Bound By Destiny
by JacGoBama16
Summary: The fate of two civilizations was decided a millennia ago. The plans of a now extinct race come to fruition as two societies separated for thousands of year meet. The Colonials erupt onto the galactic stage with a tenacious fury. The Galaxy prepares for war on all fronts and unseen forces watch from afar.
1. Chapter 1

September 17th 2004

Colonial Colony of Virgon

The team of archaeologists and volunteer historical and religious enthusiasts had finally done it. They were jubilant as the fans finished circulating the air into the freshly opened chambers of what had once belonged to the ancient Kobolian fleet. Surrounding them were the tall tress of the Virgon Forest with their bulging bases and deep roots that screamed of old age. The temple they were about to enter was estimated to be two thousand years old. Doctor Archibald Harryet, the head of the department of Archaeology at the Virgon City State University stepped forward into the dark cavern of the temple. He anxiously looked around at the walls that were covered in dust and grime from years of neglect. The people behind scampered past him, and immediately went to work. Taking photos of the cavern and its precious artifacts. Some took samples of the dirt and vegetation. But Archibald paid them no attention as he walked forward. Standing in front of him was a statue of a woman, behind it stood twelve others in a half circle facing it. In the hand of the woman was an orb. A red orb with a single inscription. A circle with an arrow beneath it. He was intrigued by the ord. He took in the scene before him, it was symbolic he realized. The twelve statues behind this one represented the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. The thirteenth represented Earth, holding out a jewel. He gasped unwillingly to believe his eyes. This meant earth was real, as he reached forward and touched the orb he fell backwards in shock. The orb split into four pieces at the base and projected a map of the galaxy. Suddenly lights that he hadn't even seen illuminated the chamber and the galaxy was laid before him. Everyone in the room stared in shock at the scene before them. He could see the Colonies in their astounding orbits surrounding the Helios Beta and Helios Gamma suns. The two suns slowly drifting apart, the distance between the colonies over time would eventually become several hundred Solar Units. A single golden line ran from Virgon out past several other star systems for what he estimated to be several dozen light years. The long golden line eventually led to a single planet with seven distinct symbols above it. Hundreds of different symbols and in seven symbol combinations appeared throughout the galaxy atop of blue dots. But only the one with the golden line leading from it was highlighted in gold text. The Dialect was slightly different but everyone in the room knew what it was.

Kobolus. Kobol, the birthplace of mankind. Home world of the gods

"My gods Archibald what have we found?"

P7X-675

It was a world devoid of life, barren by the standards of most. Yet here in a chamber the size of a small theater stood a ring with nine glowing chevrons as the inner track spun. As the seventh and top most chevron locked into place, a giant vortex spewed forth from the inner portion of the ring. Known to most throughout the Galaxy as the Stargate. Within seconds of the deadly vortex settling, dozens of men stormed through the gate and began fanning out, weapons raised scanning the room for any sign of a threat. Their movements were precise and calculated, yet lightning fast. Any hostile force that had been inside the chamber would have been wiped out within moments of the men coming through the gate. These were no ordinary soldiers, they were elite and their actions showed it. Each had at least three years of experience before even being considered to be a part of the newest battalion of one of earth's most notorious and legendary units: The 75TH Ranger Regiment. The re-activation to frontline and operational status of the fourth Ranger Battalion and the creation of the seventh Ranger battalion had raised eyebrows in the SOF community and the world. But the Battalions were shrouded in secrecy that even the other operational battalions were unaware of. Based out of Fort Carson, Colorado, these men were the designated heavy hitters of the SGC. The Quick Reaction Force that had been previously nonexistent in Stargate Operations. The Army was finally putting its weight behind the SGC and had already committed the legendary men of what was known throughout the world as Delta Force, known in reality as the first Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta. The group had three squadrons of operators, each with three troops of 120 man units that could be broken down to the team level. Labeled Alpha, Bravo and Charlie troops, which were known to exist at Fort Bragg North Carolina, the legendary home of the Special Operations Community. But D squadron had been created four years ago to begin operations through the SGC. The 360 man unit relied on the SGC for logistical and administrative support but operated separately from the SG team counterparts. The SG teams were assigned the mission of exploring the gate network, cultivating allies and acquiring new technology to defend Earth. The Delta unit was assigned the other mission, waging earth's war against the Gou'ald. SG Teams inherently crossed over and experienced mission creep due to encounters with the enemy off-world but fighting wasn't their primary mission anymore. Small Delta teams of six to eight men routinely went undercover behind enemy lines posing as slaves, local inhabitants or even drug dealers to gather intelligence about the Gou'ald. Everything from the location of major garrisons, to shipyard locations, production facilities and even the command hierarchy of individual Gou'ald System Lords were mapped out. Delta had hit several weapons manufacturing factories over the course of the last three years after going operational. Their biggest accomplishment was the death of the Gou'ald Anuket. A major system lord at the time of his death. He controlled the fourth largest army and seventh largest fleet according to To'kra intelligence. The men of Devastator Squadron had learned his Ha'tak had landed on a Naquadah mining world under his control. Like shadows in the night, while the Gou'ald had slept, the men of Delta had crept through the local village. Indiscriminately killing the Jaffa throughout the local mining town, they managed to secure the ring platform in the local temple landing pad. It took them less than ten minutes to locate the Gou'ald Anuket who had been enjoying a feast in his honor. A single 40MM grenade to the face launched from an under barrel 203 grenade launcher ended his life. The remaining Jaffa were then eliminated one by one as the Ha'tak was captured. The SGC had deployed technical and research teams almost immediately after Delta radioed back that it was secure. The To'kra then came to assist the SGC in flying the Ha'tak to the SGC Alpha site where it still sat to this day. Being taken apart and studied and its computer database used to design the x-303 and x-304. It not only served as a technological research boom for the SGC, the To'kra now used it for storage and as a base of operations. It wasn't the only Gou'ald they had taken out: Khonsu, Mafdet, Ptah, Serqet, and Sobek. All minor System Lords, who once defeated had a majority of their forces absorbed by other System lords such as Baal and Yu and now rumors of a new Gou'ald system lord were emerging: Anubis.

Today was the first test of what would eventually be many of just how successful the rangers could be. Within thirty minutes nearly the entire Battalion was through the gate and fanning out in the area around the theater like building. It took them less time than anyone had even remotely expected to begin moving out from the gate and towards their objective.

The Fourth and Seventh Ranger Battalions were the SGCs newest units to be brought under the operational command of General George Hammond, the current commanding officer of the SGC. The fourth had simply shifted its colors from Fort Benning Georgia at Camp Darby to Pedersen Air Force Base and gone from a training battalion to a fully operational and combat ready battalion in three months. Selecting the very best Rangers from the other four operational Ranger battalions, they quickly had enough men for three rifle companies and a headquarters company. To be assigned to the fourth and the still being constructed seventh ranger battalions an individual didn't just need a TS-SCI clearance which in itself was difficult to get, they had to be tabbed. Meaning they had gone through and passed the rigorous and demanding US Army Ranger School. Young PFC's and Specialists who earned their ranger tabs and had served with the regiment for a minimum of three years were selected by the senior members of the ranger battalions who were in the know. They were selected based on an extensive review of their time in service. Each of them were handpicked by the company commanders and first sergeants to be approved or disapproved by the battalion command sergeant major who would then brief all of the selectees on their new assignments. The men selected to be a part of the SGC's mission were the very best of the current regiment and none had any objections to being assigned to the new battalion. They were aggressive by nature, perfectionists by trade and deadly by right. The senior members of the regiment were unhappy to be losing so many experienced and highly trained rangers to the SGC. But the very nature of the Ranger Regiment meant they could just as easily call back Senior NCO's and Officers who had been assigned to the conventional army by the Department of the Army. As such the regular battalions quickly refilled their ranks and resumed normal operations with little degradation of their combat ability. The Fourth ranger battalion had been declared combat ready at a strength of 675 men. In an enclave far above the room, a room full of generals observed as the Rangers quickly secured the area surrounding the Stargate and then moved out immediately to their next objective. A small cluster of wooden buildings located a half mile away. When the approaching platoons got within a thousand meters the Battalions detachment of 81mm Mortars fired off a dozen high explosive rounds. They didn't strike the wooden buildings but rather the space around them. Devastating whatever enemy force may have been present if this had been a real mission. The green silhouettes that represent a fictional enemy were shredded to pieces by the mortars. Soon the leading platoons surrounded the compound completely and then moved in. It was a well-rehearsed song and dance that the Regiment had perfected in the mountains of Afghanistan. Quickly they moved in on their targets, laying waste to anything that moved or resembled a threat. In all it took less than an hour for the regiment to move through the Gate, assault the objective and declare mission success. It was a rather impressive feat and not something the assembled generals missed.

"I guess our concerns were misplaced General Thomas. Your Rangers seem more than capable of getting the job done." Said Air Force General George Hammond, current Commander of the SGC.

"That's okay General Hammond, I'd be concerned if you weren't suspicious of my claims. But seeing them alleviated assures me they will be put to good use at the SGC"

"Oh yes, put to a very good use indeed."

THREE WEEKS AFTER DISCOVERY OF THE LOCATION OF KOBOL

The battlestar Acropolis appeared in orbit of the planet that was for all intents and purpose, lifeless. The Marine Strike Star Hephaestus soon appeared behind her. Their raptors had already scouted the system and revealed a large tylium deposit on the surface of the moon, along with a new previously undiscovered material. Highly conductive and apparently extremely resistant to heat, samples had been obtained by a ground team and brought aboard. Now the two ships were preparing to jump to the next system after they let their systems cool down for a few hours.

"How long until the next jump?" Commander Staiuto asked as she looked up from the mountain of paperwork that was in front of her. They had been on the mission for ten days now. Allanna was growing inpatient. If they had to, they could be at Kobol in six jumps, but the Admiralty wanted detailed and thorough searches for the follow on expedition. She wasn't overly concerned about a potential Cylon threat, so far they had found nothing. And the Acropolis was a Mercury Class battlestar, designed to take on as many three basestars simultaneously and still be able to conduct follow on operations if needed.

"Six hours commander" Responded her XO Colonel Stanley Davos

"Alright Ima go get some shut eye before the next jump. Tell the engineering department I want to see a report on that new mineral we found as soon as they have it ready. And have the CAG send a Raptor to the next system as well, were only about twenty eight jumps from Kobol. Itll take us another ten days to get there"

"Only been at it ten days ma'am"

"I am going to go crazy with boredom" Colonel Davos just chuckled at her.

As she walked back to her quarters she silently reflected on the conversation that brought her to this point. She was making history by coming here, history she was proud to be a part of.

CAPRICA THREE WEEKS AGO

COLONIAL MINISTRY OF DEFENSE

Commander Allanna Staiuto stood silently outside the office of Fleet Admiral William Benton. Hands clasped behind her back just below the ponytail of her long dirty blonde hair. She was slightly nervous to be called into see the Admiral. The young captain who was the aide to the admiral was working diligently at his station next to the door while two Marines in dress grays stood at rigid attention outside the office. Their uniforms, like hers, were crisp and clean. Except they wore sidearms on their hips and she had no doubt they were loaded. Apart of her wondered if she was in trouble for some odd reason. But she could think of nothing that would warrant her being called to see the Fleet Admiral. She had just wrapped up the fleet training exercise near Aerilon and as far as she knew she had done exceptional. Even earning praise from Admiral Corman for her performance.

"Commander the Admiral will see you now" Said the Captain.

"Thank you Captain" She replied as the two Marines opened the door before her and she stepped into the admiral's office.

"Commander Staiuto welcome, please have a seat." He said to her as she entered his office. The Admiral was a balding man in his late sixties now. A veteran of Six years of the Cylon war he had fought in every major battle from the middle of the war on. Rumor had it he was planning to retire in a few years and let Admiral Green take over. Allanna was honored to sit across from the man. She respected his accomplishments and all that he had done for the colonies and the fleet in his thirty nine years of service.

"Thank you sir, Im honored to be here sir"

"As are we all Commander. I'll get straight to the point Allanna" He said using her first name to tell her he was going to be informal and that the conversation was off the record.

"The Kobol expedition is why you're here. You're on it, along with the Marine StrikeStar Hephaestus and Orion" Allanna arched an eyebrow at the mention of the technically non-existent stealth battlestar. "Yes the stealth battlestar. I want the Acropolis and the Orion to go ahead of the Expedition fleet to ensure there are no unwanted surprises or worse, gods I say it, Cylons at Kobol. You'll be a separate entity of the Main Expedition fleet"

"Sir I was under the impression the Armistice line was in the opposite direction of Kobol?" Allanna had been caught up in the news of the discovery on Virgon and had watched the sixty minute long news segment on it before coming here. She was excited to be a part of the mission. While she wasn't overly religious herself, her parents had never pushed religion on her. She did still believe in the gods.

"It is, but space isn't flat Commander. Cimtar was a mistake, the Politicians forced us to sign that damn peace accord without ever realizing the disaster that it was. Theoretically the Armistice line extends indefinitely in all directions. Up down, left and right. Can you see the problem?" Allanna saw it right away, they were relatively stuck against what they thought was a vast and barren empty wasteland behind them with a whole host of what they knew to be habitable world ahead of them; Under Cylon control.

"Yes sir, were confined to one area of space relatively speaking while the cylons aren't"

"In a general manner of speaking yes and no. It's part of the reason we've concentrated our sensor nets and defenses around the colonies themselves and the immediate space around them. The Cylons were always more technologically advanced than us. By now their FTL systems and computers could be more advanced than ours by light-years. It puts us into a bad position mind you and me. But Space is big and vastly so. We can easily expand core ward if we so chose to do so. But space is also barren and for the most part lifeless."

"So why the worry about the Cylons sir? Are we concerned about envelopment sir?" She began to see where this conversation was headed.

"You catch on pretty quick Commander" He nodded "Yes we are, if the Cylons have advanced their technology to the point where they can jump farther and have expanded past our known regions of space then the problem becomes one of envelopment. The Cylons may already surround us for all we know. Which is why three capital ships are going out ahead of the main fleet. A full Strike group will be escorting them. There's a lot of civilians going with this expedition, the last thing the fleet needs is for them to all be wiped out by some gods forbidden accident or attack"

"I understand sir. Will we have any special provisions for this op?"

"Your ships will be fully stocked with as much ordnance and fuel as they can carry. In Addition your airwing will be equipped with nuclear strike packages to be used as needed." Allanna was shocked, Battlestars almost never carried Air wing strike packages unless in time of war. Her ship would be carrying almost three thousand nukes alone. It unnerved her and made her slightly suspicious.

"So just to be clear sir, what exactly are my orders?"

The Admiral looked at her for a second before answering. "Scout out the route to Kobol ahead of the Main Fleet. Find Kobol and determine its validity for supporting human life. The Scrolls say some type of Calamity happened that left the planet uninhabitable so for all we know this could just be a giant waste of time. But your secondary objective at least to the public, is to perform reconnaissance of all-star systems you encounter for any resources and sign of the Cylons. The last part we won't tell the public. Your departure will be classified but once you're a few days out we'll let the rest of the people know. There may be some ruffled feathers with the civilians but I could care less"

"I understand sir, but if I may be so bold as to ask why me for this mission. I have to ask sir, my crew is practically all first time crew aboard a battlestar. Me, I've only been a battlestar Commander for the last six months with just one training war game under my belt."

"Because Corman told me to pick you. He said you're smart, aggressive and tenacious. You know how to hold your own in a fight but you're also level headed, and that's what I want in the endeavor"

"Yes sir. I didn't expect such high praise from the Admiral Sir"

"It's rare that he gives it, which is why I went with it. I expect good results commander"

Allanna Staiuto stood and saluted the Admiral. By accepting the mission she was unaware she was changing the fate of not just one but four Galaxies.

TWO WEEKS AFTER THE ACROPOLIS DEPARTURE

In the high orbit of the planet the space station known as the Caprican Fleet Shipyards hung over the world like a guardian. With several different dozen pylons and niches attached to the central core module of the shipyard it was an eye catching sight to see. Currently three full strike groups were docked at the massive station. The Colonial First Strike Group had received its warning orders only a week ago. Now crewmembers were reporting back to their ships aboard large shuttles from the surface below. The strike ground commanders were busily preparing their ships to embark with the expedition fleet to Kobol. Unknown to any of them, the Acropolis, Hephaestus and Orion had already gone ahead of them. Joining the strike group were over fifteen thousand Colonial Scientist, acclaimed archeologists, anthropologists, Biologists, astrophysics and the crews, and teams needed to support their work. In addition a presidential envoy had been chosen to accompany the expedition. The Expedition fleet was due to depart in ten days while the Colonial Military revealed it had already sent two battlestars to scout ahead. The expedition fleet was assured that no colonial troops would land on the surface or make contact with anyone on Kobol if they found life there. The advanced force was reported to have one purpose, to validate the claims of Dr. Harryet and to ensure that Kobol was safe for the expedition fleet to land on.

"The Frakking Military! Who the hell do they think they are? To send two battlestars, Battlestars! Ships of death and destruction ahead of us! What kind of message does that send if there is actually life on Kobol?" The others in the conference room simply stared and listened as Archibald Harryet continued on his rant. They all agreed with him but none wanted to interrupt him and make his foul mood worse. The Expedition fleet was due to depart soon, and only a few ships were still taking on supplies. To say the assembled group of Archaeologists were excited would have been an understatement.

ACROPOLIS

"Raptor two eight seven this is flight, you are cleared for takeoff"

"Copy flight, Cleared for takeoff"

"Godspeed two eight seven"

Lieutenant Amelia Balist fired her vertical RCS thrusters and lifted the raptor off the deck while engaging her two mains that propelled the raptor forward.

The single Raptor left the side of the Mercury Class battlestar and flew steadily away as the crew of two performed jump calculations

"Hey Jackpot, what do you think were gonna find? My moneys on more rocks"

"I should disqualify you for being a smart ass" Replied her ECO Lieutenant junior grade Carl Edmon. She chuckled and finished inputting her jump coordinates.

"Were all good back here. Acropolis, Raptor Two eight seven, jump coordinates verified. Jump in five minutes on my mark. Mark"

"Well here we go, let's go to the only other world in this sector of space that's capable of sustaining human life."

Five minutes later the Raptor jumped to appear a few minutes away from the blue green world that almost reminded Amelia of home. "Wow" She whispered to herself.

"Celestial body directly ahead, nitrogen, oxygen good CO2 levels. Definitely habitable." Said Edmon as he came up to the copilot's seat to get a good look at the world beneath them.

"Pretty damn cool if you ask me" She said to him as she smiled.

"What do you say we do some low level passes of the equator and temperate zones? See what's down there" She said as she brought the raptor into a more stable orbit.

"Yeah roger that. Lets get some pretty pictures for the folks back home."

An hour later the raptor was finishing its patrol when Lt Edmon shouted "Whoa, hey you remember that new element we found? This planet has a new one."

"A new what?" Amelia replied looking at the planet below.

"A new element, different than that one. Way different, if im right it's a new kind of metal. At least three times denser than what we use now"

"Wow" was her only reply.

If the two raptor pilots had been able to see into the ascended plane they would have been shocked to see another woman sitting beside them in all white clothing. Smiling at the Colonials Discovery of Trinium. "At last my children, the journey begins"

BATTLESTAR ACROPOLIS ONE JUMP TO KOBOL

"Well two new elements discovered that could potentially revolutionize Colonial Shipbuilding and a reinvent the way we power our ships" Said Colonel Davos as he held up the samples of Naquadah and Trinium. Thou the names were still unknown to him.

"Yes well our main mission is still to get to Kobol. Thou I have no doubt the Fleet will establish mines and garrisons on those worlds"

"Right, well our survery team is next to head out to Kobol once our last scout team returns. The Orion reports they've encountered no enemy vessels in any of the surrounding systems nor any signs of life. They're linking up with us in an hour."

"Good, let the Orion's CO know I expect him and his senior staff over for dinner"

"Yes ma'am, excited to make history ma'am?"

"Oh you bet" She replied thinking if the news channels would even mention her name. In truth she wasn't in it for the publicity or the praise. She was hoping to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was a capable and confident commander. Her fellow Capital warfare, strategic studies and tactics school classmates had sometimes called her timid and too easy going. The fleet wanted its battlestar commanders to be aggressive and tenacious. She was a rare breed of officer, aggressive but analytical and reserved. She didn't need to be the loudest or boldest. She believed in strategic planning and unorthodoxed tactics. She preferred to do the things the enemy least expected, and to maximize on mistakes and opportunity. She had devastated the opposing force in the only war games she had participated in, earning her vast respect throughout the fifth fleet. She intended to keep that respect and improve upon everything she had done. She was motivated by a deep desire to achieve and exceed whatever expectations she set for herself. Growing up she had learned to take care of herself on her own. Her parents had fallen to drugs and her sisters sought refuge in the church, she chose the fleet and never looked back. She had never married and never had kids, instead focusing solely on her career.

SGC G-3 Operations

Colonel Marion Riles overlooked his operations chart for the day and made a slight adjustment, deploying SG-6 fifteen minutes later to give the Gate room personnel time to move out the latest shipment of naquadah that was coming through from their newly established mining operation on P4X-737. Lately the SG teams had been focusing on identifying and securing new supplies of naquadah for their new fleet of X-303 interstellar vessels that were still under construction. He couldn't wait for more than just the Prometheus to be finished and declared operational. They were going to be needed in the coming years and days. On average the SGC was receiving fifteen tons of naquadah and Trinium per week. He currently had six of the SGC's twenty five SG teams off-world with an additional one hundred and thirty delta operators conducting over twenty different missions from long term surveillance to espionage of Gou'ald research stations. Four delta operators were posing as black market arms dealers in an attempt to gain access to underground resistance movements spread throughout Gou'ald territory. Currently they were supposed to be meeting with a group called the Lucian alliance on P7R-288. While another team of delta operators operating out of the Alpha site was due to conduct a raid on one of Baal's planetside shipyards. They were planning to place explosive charges on the anti-gravity engines keeping both the shipyard and the under construction Hatak from falling to the ground. The pace of operations currently being run was new for the SGC, but not anything they couldn't handle. If anything it made the place more alive, even at one in the morning the SGC was a hive of activity. Colonel Riles had come from the Pentagon three years ago to help oversee operations at the SGC. He had spent his early career with the Marine Corps 1st Force Recon during the gulf war and later leading 3/1 Marines for three years before becoming the executive officer of the 24th MEU for another two years before earning Lt Col and being assigned to the Pentagon. He had left just months before the 9/11 attacks which using the war on terror as a cover had helped to channel more discreet funds into the SGC. A knock on the door brought his attention to the young air force officer standing in front of him. His administrative assistant was a young lieutenant by the name of Hank Ford.

"Sir we just got a request from HHC 4/75 they want to send a mortar detachment to the Alpha site for some off-world training. They want to refine their current fire control methods for offworld use." He said as he handed him the request form.

"How exactly are they doing that?" He asked curious to know how the Rangers would coordinate fire support in a new world without the use of MGRS or satellite assistance.

"Apparently sir theyre still using a ten-digit grid system. The Gate will form the center of the map, with each grid square out from it being a thousand meters by thousand meters. Theyre gonna label them Alpha numeric from the bottom up and numerical horizontally sir. Kind of like battleship in a way sir.

"Interesting, well lets plan it in for three weeks from now, on Tuesday the 24th" he said marking it down on his calendar. "Anything else?" He asked

"Yes sir, the regimental commander wants to have the 7/75 Medical Platoon based here at the base or at the Alpha site. He says it would give us an additional asset that would be readily deployable within an hour to assist in any major medical mission or civilian evacuation."

"How many medics is that?" He asked trying to recall how many they had in a MEU

"Forty three sir, 37 combat medics, 3 Trauma surgeons, and 3 P.A's"

"Well I cant argue with having that force on immediate standby, tell them we will work out the finer details with General Hammond but initial approval is granted"

P8X-276

The six men were dressed as locals, sitting at a local tavern conversing with each other in low voices.

"The Jaffa guards are pretty disciplined but low in number it should be pretty easy to overpower them with all of 1st Platoon here." Stated Master Sergeant Gary Wells, an eight year veteran of Delta. He had come from the 75th Ranger regiment like many of his fellow brothers in the unit. He was originally from Idaho.

"Agreed but id like to have some fire support for those staff cannons they have overlooking the entrance. Hitting one with a 203 might be a little tricky, especially under fire." Said the second member of the team, Sergeant First Class Daniel Roberts, he had been with A troop for four years, serving six years prior in 5th Special forces group. Prior to that he had spent three more years in Third Ranger battalion. He had only recently been promoted and was the teams heavy weapons specialist.

"Yeah they put em in a pretty good spot to defend the entrance to the mine." Said Staff Sergeant Jeremy Billington, he was new to the team having arrived only a year ago. He came to the unit directly from seventh special forces group after being there for seven years. He was a sniper and was one of the best shots in the army. He wouldn't be where he was if he wasn't.

"So we get a mortar team attached to us, get first platoon on the ground, take the mine, free the slaves and call it a day. Sounds simple but not so simple to do" Said MSG Wells as he looked at all of his guys.

BATTLESTAR ACROPOLIS

"Raptor 278 you are cleared for departure, good hunting"

"Copy that, 278 Acknowledged." Said Lt Amelia Balist as she brought her raptor out of the launch bay and into formation with the other eight raptors being sent to Kobol. She was sweating under her flight suit, nervous to be one of the first colonials to return to their ancient and sacred home world.

"All Raptors this is Flight leader, verify jump coordinates and report status when checks are complete" She heard over her helmet speakers. Silently she began re-checking her systems. Her thrusters all showed green, Master Arm switch was to safe, Decoys and Chaff were loaded and set to auto. Cabin pressure was nominal and fuel was at 99 percent. She was well into the green. She listened as all her fellow pilots checked in before it was her turn.

"Raptor 278, All systems green"

"Copy that begin jump sequence on my mark, Mark" Said the flight leader as she began the countdown

Silently as the clock wound down to Zero she reflected on her life and what had brought her to this point. She had attended the Virgon academy of Poseidon for her entire school career. Up until she had been selected for the Fleet Academy on Picon. Her parents had been ecstatic and proud when she had earned her spot and she was even more proud to be among the first flight of recon raptors to approach the planet. She had graduated at nearly the top of her class in flight school and like all rookies pilots had been assigned to fly raptors to gain flight experience and hours before moving on to raptors. She wasn't overly religious, having been to the Virgon temples only once in her life. To partake in a colonial day celebration. To say that day had been one of the most memorable in her lifetime was an understatement. She smiled at the memory but was quickly brought back to the present as the clock reached Zero and all nine raptors jumped away. Ten minutes later the two raptors that had been dispatched to scout the last remaining system before Kobol returned.

ACROPOLIS CIC

"Ma'am our two raptors have returned from the last system before Kobol." Said the Communications officer

"Patch me through" Said Commander Staiuto as she picked up the receiver and brought it to her ear as the Comms officer nodded to her.

"This is Actual to raptors 247, and 234, report" She ordered

"Actual this is firefly be advised, one habitable world in system, indigenous population sighted on the surface. Negative contact, repeat negative contact."

"Firefly did you say, indigenous personnel?" She said back not quite putting it together in her head yet.

"That's affirmative ma'am, from what we can tell they're human. At least it appears that way"

Allanna was in shock, a planet of undocumented humans outside of kobol and the colonies. She paused to consider her options. They could be strays from the Galleon fleet that got lost, or a colony of Kobol itself before the exodus. It could be any number of things she reminded herself. Focus on gathering intelligence and data she chastised herself.

"XO bring our raptors home. I want all recordings analyzed and get our intelligence section working on it right away as well. I want population estimates, climate, temperature, descriptions of landmass. Beginning planning a more thorough recon of the system as well. Ten raptors, see if they have any space-fairing vessels or satellites. I want detailed scans as well for any trace signatures of weaponized radioactive materials as well."

"Yes ma'am, Are we going to make contact?" He asked as he began to relay her instructions.

"No that's the job of the Expedition fleet, which should be at the rally point in forty eight hours. In the meantime we follow our mission objectives and gather as much intelligence as possible.

RAPTOR 278

Nine bright flashes illuminated the space around Kobol as the Twelve Colonies of man returned to their ancient homeworld. High above them in a plane of existence they didn't even know existed a gathering of twelve beings watched as the pilots conducted dradis sweeps of the planet and began to photograph the ruins of their once mighty empire.

"So it has begun" Stated one to the others as they all nodded in agreement.

"At last our work has come to fruition. After so many years."

"We must be careful to guide them on the right path."

"I Agree, but quickly, let us not draw undeed attention. We have already stayed too long" As quickly as they had appeared the twelve ascended beings disappeared.

"Holy frak this is really Kobol. Look at the ruins, its almost a perfect match to the city of the gods." Said Amelia's ECO as he studied the images they were taking.

"Roger that, lets finish our grid and report in. The expedition fleet will be here in a few days and they'll put boots on the ground."

"Yeah, those religious scholars are gonna go nuts with excitement, whoa! Dradis contact, single bogey bearing two eight three, coram one one six. Range at 0800, frak its right on top of us"

"Identify?" She said as she spun the nose of her raptor around to see what it was.

"Negative, no IFF, no transponder signal of any kind. No emissions. I think it's dead in the water."

"Lets check it out." She said now more curious than anything else. She knew like everyone that Kobol had ships. But none of the Galleon fleet had survived the journey to the colonies, in fact it had taken over two thousand years for the Colonies to return to the stars and unify with each other at the onset of the Cylon war. As she approached the ship she noticed it was about the size of her raptor, but a nearly perfectly cylindrical shape with a straight angled end and front. The glass cockpit of the green craft was clearly cracked and had vented the oxygen into space killing the two crewmembers inside. She wasn't surprised to note they were human in appearance. A man and a woman, wearing what she assumed were white clothing with a brown chest piece and a waist belt around them.

"Drop a buoy, well have a transport come and pick it up" She said as her ECO looked over her shoulder as they went back to searching and photographing their grid.

EXPEDITION FLEET

Archibald Harryet was fuming. Not only did the Expedition Commander refuse to get to Kobol ahead of time, they would be stopping just short of the planet for twenty four hours to rendezvous with the Acropolis.

"Why the hell did the president put the military in charge of this? It's absolutely ridiculous. Kobol was abandoned, completely uninhabitable when we left. There is no reason to suspect a threat. But you know them always preparing for the worst and all. My gods id be surprised if they didn't station a garrison on the planet. Ill raise all bloody hell if they do that"

"Trust me, Doctor, we will not allow it. The religious majority is what got the president elected, he has to respect our views and stances on certain issues" Said the Priestess Agola, who was one of the hundreds of priests and religious scholars that had been chosen to come along with the expedition.

"Can you keep the Military out of this once we get there?" He asked her. He himself was not religious, believing more in science than anything else.

"Of course, Admiral Brantley and I have become quite close since we left. He plans to allow for total civilian control of Kobol. The fleet will mainly focus on securing the space around Kobol and scouting the system for resources and such." She replied smiling. Her response gave him a sense of deep satisfaction.

"We should get going we don't want to miss our meeting with the Admiral" He said happy at the news that the military wouldn't be too involved with their grand exploration.

BATTLESTAR HELIOS FLAGSHIP

Admiral William Brantley strode confidently towards the hanger deck to meet the Acropolis raptor crew as they landed. To his surprise as the expedition fleet had arrived at their last set of jump coordinates, a single raptor had been waiting for them. The raptor signaled they had a top secret communique to be hand delivered to him for his eyes only from Commander Staiuto. He was expecting it to be that they had found Kobol. Excited to be the Expedition commander and anxiously awaiting his promotion to Fleet Admiral, he was ready to get there.

As he approached the Raptor he noticed a Captain with a briefcase attached to her wrist by a pair of handcuffs with four Armed Marine guards next to her. The pilots were doing post flight checks of the raptor as he approached the deck crew and all others assembled snapped to attention. "Carry on" He said as he passed them. The handcuffs raised an eyebrow from him as he immediately grew suspicious. Their objective was no secret, why the security? He thought to himself as waved at the Captain and the Marines to follow him to his quarters. After five minutes of walking they arrived at his stateroom. The Marines took up guard outside while the Captain received the key from the Marine Lieutenant in charge.

"Alright Captain, lets have it" He said as she undid the handcuffs and opened the briefcase handing him a single sealed envelope. He noticed the case had numerous thumb drives and photos as well. As he opened the envelope he quickly noticed the Bright red writing in bold letters: TOP SECRET

TO: COMMANDER BATTLESTAR HELIOS : ADMIRAL BRANTLEY, COMMANDER 1ST STRIKE GROUP, COLONIAL FIFTH FLEET

FROM: COMMANDER BATTLESTAR ACROPOLIS, BSG 57

TOP SECRET, DESTROY BY ANY MEANS TO PREVENT UNAUTHORIZED REPRODUCTION AND OR DISTRIBUTION OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS

REPORT: ADVANCED RECONNASIANCE OF KOBOL CORRIDOR, SURROUNDING STAR SYSTEMS.

RAPTOR SCOUTING MISSION FROM ACROPOLIS DISCOVERED INHABITED WORLD LOCATED ADJACENT TO KOBOL SYSTEM, APPROX 7 S.U. AWAY FROM MAIN KOBOLIAN STAR. POPULATION ESTIMATE BETWEEN 100 MILLION TO 150 MILLION NO CONTACT MADE BY ACROPOLIS. PLANET ESTIMATED TO BE PRE INDUSTRIAL AGE, NO SPACE FARING VESSELS DETECTED OR OBSERVED

PLANETARY BODY BELIEVED TO BE KOBOL SCOUTED BY FORCE OF NINE RAPTORS. ONE UNKNOWN DERELICT VESSEL DETECTED DRIFTING IN ORBIT. VESSEL WAS OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN AND TYPE, BROUGHT ABOARD FOR FURTHER STUDY. VESSEL CURRENTLY IN CONTAINMENT AREA. ATTEMPTS AT POWER UP UNSUCCESFULL. TWO HUMANOID CORPSES RECOVERED FROM CRAFT, IN NEAR PERFECT CONDITION DUE TO BEING EXPOSED TO VACCUM. NO SIGN OF HUMAN LIFE ON SURFACE. DETAILED SCANS AND IMAGES ATTACHED TO MESSAGES. SURFACE SCANS SUGGEST RADIOACTIVE EVENT AROUND TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO BELIEVED TO BE ON WORLD ENDING SCALE

RUINS ON PLANETARY BODY BELIEVED TO BE KOBOL CLOSELY RESEMBLED THOSE OF THE CITY OF THE GODS FROM BOOK OF PYTHIA. CONFIRM MISSION OBJECTIVE ACHIEVED

NEGATIVE CONTACT ON ANY KNOWN OR SUSPECTED CYLON CRAFT DURING EXTENSIVE SYSTEM BY SYSTEM CHECK ALONG KOBOL CORRIDOR.

TWO NEW ELEMENTS DISCOVERED ENROUTE, BELIEVED TO HAVE POTENTIAL TO REVOLTUNIZE COLONIAL POWER GENERATION AND SHIPBUILDING, PERTINENT DATA ATTACHED

BATTLESTAR ACROPOLIS AND ESCORTS MAINTAING STATION AT PREDESIGNATED RALLY POINT, RECOMMEND MAINTAIN SECRECY OF POPULATED UNKNOWN WORLD FROM CIVILIAN FLEET UNTIL SPECIAL OPERATIONS UNITS CAN BE PUT INTO PLACE TO GATHER INTELLIGENCE OF THE LOCAL POPULATION. ARRIVAL OF COLONIAL FLEET UNITS MAY CAUSE UNNECESSARY PANIC AND DISRUPTION OF PEACE TO PEOPLE UNACCUSTOMED OR UNAWARE OF EXISTENCE OF OTHER LIFE IN THEIR KNOWN UNIVERSE.

The Admiral read the Commanders report twice to be sure he hadn't missed any details. He then leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath. "Are you aware of any of whats in this report?" He asked the tall blonde haired captain standing before him at attention.

"Yes sir, all of it sir" She said quickly.

"So we found Kobol and another world full of human beings. I agree with Commander Stauito about not informing the civilians about this other world. They would want to make contact right away and convert them to worship the gods. But that's not our call to make, that's up to the president. For now it'll remain classified. Now tell me about this ship you recovered?" he said curious to hear her answer. He agreed with the commander in her recommendation. He knew like any what the religious groups would want them to do. Assimilate them into the colonies and begin settling their world. But by any accounts they were nowhere near ready for that yet. Now he was curious about this other ship they had found.

"Its unlike anything we've ever seen sir. The technology on board alone is light years beyond what we have now and we haven't even managed to power the main systems. We believe the engines run on some type of fusion power not fuel. If that's true sir, its range would be practically limitless. Not to mention the fact that that a lot of the coding is so alien to us it would be practically immune to any attempt at Cylon hacking." Replied Captain Stacy Korrey as she nervously replied to the Admiral.

"Relax Captain, this isn't an interrogation, you and your crew did an outstanding job" He said noticing her nervousness.

"Sorry sir, just a little nervous is all" She replied settling down a little.

"At what, having to brief me on this, or what its all about?" He asked her as he saw her relax alittle bit.

"I guess a little of both sir" She said with a small smile.

"You have nothing to be nervous about with me. But I can't blame you for being nervous about the situation. This is world changing stuff." He said for a minute before he continued

"The coding? It's in Colonial Standard?" He asked as he raised an eyebrow

"No sir, it's in ancient Kobolian, but we believe if we can get a working translation program going we should be able to re-write all of our current operating systems using the new code and make all of our systems nearly impervious to Cylon hacking."

"That is indeed a game changer Captain. I want that made a priority with the religious scholars and archaeologists to get that translation program up and running." He said thinking of the possibilities.

"Yes sir, we also found what we believe are missiles of some type on board as well. But they're not like ours sir. They're almost organic in a way. They have a highly reactive compound in them that we haven't been able to identify. A small grain of it nearly destroyed the entire workstation sir" The admiral raised both of his eyebrows at that.

"A lot of the things are about to change very fast for all of us Captain" He said to her as he stood up. "Have you and your escorts get a quick meal and return to the Acropolis within the next four hours. Give Commander Staiuto my regards and tell her job well done. To all of you. Tell her ill be aboard tomorrow at 1200 hours to receive a thorough briefing on all of this" He said as he walked her out to the cabin hatch.

"Yes sir. Thank you for your time sir" She replied proudly as she exited out of the hatch while nodding to the marines who began to walk in front of her and the Admiral.

"I almost wish my job was as easy yours, I now have to deal with Doctor Harryet and a bunch of other whiny undisciplined civilians and nutjobs" He said as they walked out. The marine guards taking station in front of them let out a small chuckle.

"I think you'd be better than me at that sir" She said as he nodded back. He turned to salute as she did the same "God speed and safe journey back Captain" He said as he dropped his salute.

"Thank you sir, you as well" She replied before turning to walk back to his quarters.

STANAVA

The world that had just been discovered by the Colonials was known to its people as STAVANA, named after the vast mountain range that ran down the only continent on the surface of the planet. The people were by no means however what the colonials thought they were. This planet had once belonged to the Gou'ald Anubis before his downfall by the collective system lords over two thousand years ago. Since his withdraw from known space the Jaffa that had once garrisoned this world had long since been overthrown and killed. Their vast stockpile of staff weapons were now fully controlled by the local population. The unified government lived and ruled from one of the former system lords palaces near the coastal city that was their capital. In the courtyard below stood the stargate, which for a thousand years been buried. Only a hundred years ago they had unburied it and once again began to re-explore the stars. Six days before a group of travelers had gone to trade with another world that had once been under the control of Anubis like theirs. Their friends were waiting by the gate anxiously awaiting their return. As the gate activated instead of their returning villages a legion of Jaffa came storming through. Having learned of the location from the traders. Anubis had sent them to reclaim his former world.

RAPTOR 278

Lt Amelia Balist threw her Raptor into a violent counter maneuver to evade the incoming golden bolts of weapons fire. The unknown Pyramid like ship had exited some type of vortex less than 300 klicks from her Raptor. She had frozen for a brief second before her ECO shouted at her they were being locked onto. Not thirty seconds later a flight of four unknown fighters came barreling her way. She was mentally cursing as she dodged yet another pair of bolts aimed at her ship. She knew she couldn't outrun the fighters in her raptor, they were only slightly faster than her, but they would be no match for a viper she knew. How she wished a couple of them were here right now.

"Jump in ten seconds" Said her ECO as she fired her forward and rear bottom RCS thrusters and cut the power to her main engines flipping the raptor upside down and reversing course on a dime. Activating her fire control search radar she got two distinctive tones indicating a missile lock on two of the enemy fighters and quickly squeezed the trigger sending two Archer missiles into the nearest enemy fighters. The missiles crossed the distance so rapidly the Death Gliders had no chance to evade before they were hit. The remaining two broke off in two different directions to avoid the debris. The third fighter brought itself right into the path of her 30mm chain gun under the nose of her raptor and she let off a quick thirty round burst which shredded the death glider apart in seconds. It had taken her six seconds to get three kills. The last remaining fighter was swinging around in an attempt to get behind her again. Realizing she had him, Amelia rolled the raptor hard right and fired her portside thrusters rolling the raptor upside down to the attacking enemy and quickly got a missile lock. Avoiding another bolt of incoming fire she fired her third missile, and watched it cross the distance in less than two seconds and blow the enemy fighter apart. "We're clear, jumping now" Said her ECO as she breathed a deep sigh of relief as she felt the familiar wave of FLT come over here. She breathed a sign of relief seeing her ship ahead of her.

"Raptor 278, Acropolis, you're back early. Are you declaring an emergency?" She heard over her wireless.

"Acropolis, Raptor 278 that's affirmative. We have enemy contact, I repeat we have enemy contact." It was a pause before she heard another response.

"Raptor 278 this is Actual, give me a sitrep" She heard her commander say. Amelia took a breath before replying.

"Acropolis, Raptor 278 we have contact, I repeat we have contact with unknown hostile forces over Colony X. Unknown vessel appeared by unknown means of FTL and immediately launched fighters at us. No attempt at contact was made, they just started shooting. We returned fire and downed four enemy fighters but their larger capital ship has taken station over the planet. Unknown hostiles were not, repeat, were not Cylons."

Commander Allanna Staiuto immediately turned to her tactical officer Lt Jacob Eals

"Sound action stations, set condition one. Get our vipers in the tubes, I want gun batteries manned and ready. Copy to Orion and Hephaestus. Bring 278 back aboard, I want gun camera footage pulled and reviewed immediately and get those pilots up to the CIC as soon as they're aboard, send another raptor to the expedition fleet and tell them we have a combat situation here with unknown hostiles and request reinforcements"

HELIOS CONFERENCE ROOM

"Admiral, pleasure to see you again." Said the priestess Agola as she kissed the admirals hand as the other members of the Civilian side of the expedition arrived. "The pleasure is mine priestess. Please be seated"

"So we are only two jumps away from Kobol. I understand the Military will be hands off once we arrive." Said Harryet as he sipped on a cup of tea.

"No not anymore." He replied nearly making the famous archaeologist drop his cup all over himself. The priestess who had only moments ago been glad to see him now stared at him with daggers in her eyes. The Presidential Envoy cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. While the scientist, a Doctor Gaius Baltar looked just as shocked as Doctor Harryet.

"Excuse me, the Military cannot be in charge of archeological operations on Kobol. You'll destroy priceless artifacts. Defile sacred grounds" Said Agola her voice quaking with fear and bordering on rage. The admiral remained impassive. Not caring for the opinions of the civilians.

"The political and religious organizations will never stand for this! I will not allow you to ruin this for us" Shouted Doctor Harryet as he rose from his chair shaking with almost uncontrolled rage.

"I would strongly suggest you sit down and restrain yourself. And retract your statement Mr Harryet." He didn't call him Doctor as a clear sign of disrespect.

"I will do no such thing." He said breathing more heavily.

"Doctor Harryet, let me remind you there are five battlestars and two hundred other Colonial warships out there. All of whom answer to me. Now the original plan was for the Military to back off once we got to Kobol. Which I can confirm from the Acropolis scouting party that it is. The ruins are a near exact match to the ones described in the book of Pythia." All of the assembled people around the conference room looked at him in shock. Many clasped their hands together in prayer. Others smiled and turned to their colleagues in congratulations. The assembled group of civilians rejoiced briefly at the news. Agola herself silently began to shed a tear.

"So whats changed, that the Military is now taking over" Asked the Scientist Doctor Gaius Baltar as he looked at the admiral. The rest of the assembled group suddenly refocused on him with the doctors statement.

"The Civilian fleet will remain here while elements of the First Strike group conduct very thorough and detailed scans of the surface. The other reasons are classified at the highest levels. The presidential envoy will be briefed as well as you doctor Baltar. We are going to need your expertise and your help with some recent developments."

"The people have a right to know about everything that happens on Kobol" Said Doctor Harryet clearly angry.

"This isn't about Kobol. Once we determine Kobol is safe for you to go down without a bio-suit. Youll be allowed to go. But a radiation team will enter any chambers or tombs you may find before you do to determine their viability "

"What!" Yelled the priest.

"That's understandable. If kobol suffered a calamity and there was radiation involved the radiation wouldn't dissipate in a tomb or confined space. If it was radioactive it would remain so" Said Doctor Harryet.

"Now..I know this ruffles some feathers but its" The Admiral was interrupted by the sounding of the Alarm Xlaxon going off.

"Action stations, Actions stations, set condtion one throughout the ship, all hands prepare for immediate combat jump, this is not a drill, repeat this is not a drill. Action Stations, action stations" The PA repeated several times before different reports began flooding the intercom system.

The Civilians not knowing what to do simply followed the Admiral as he ran down the hall towards the CIC.

As the Admiral walked into the CIC, he saw his battlestar Commander, Commander Jason Devos barking orders to the crew.

"I want nuclear ordnance loaded in launch tubes one through twenty. Prepare to launch attack squadrons" He said to the Ships XO as he they carried out the orders.

"Commander Report" Said Admiral Brantley as he walked up to the plotting station.

"Sir Raptor from the Acropolis, Unknown hostiles attacked one of their scouting raptors over that unknown world we discovered. Raptor took out four hostile fighters in self-defense and FTL'd out of the fight. Single capital ship of unknown type and origin. Believed to have launched around sixty to eight fighters towards the surface."

"There's over a hundred million people on that world. They're a pre-industrial society they won't stand a chance against them" Said the Admiral as he looked at his Commander in horror.

"Copy to all strike group vessels, have frigates remain behind to guard expedition fleet along with Battlestar Valkyrie. Along with assigned escorts. All other ships to prepare for immediate FTL jump to the Colony. Those people may have been left behind by the Galleon fleet but they're still Colonial Citizens. We are duty bound to come to their aid" Said the Admiral as he mentally prepared for combat.

Behind him Doctory Harryet and the Priest Agola stood stunned at his words. Colonials left behind by the Colonies when they left Kobol.

Archibald Harryet's mind was spinning, the possibilities of what he had just heard was unfathomable to him. How much precious history they may have retained left him speechless. What they could know that they didn't.

The priestess was stunned as well. A hundred million souls to bless the Colonies with reunification. And now they were under attack, but by who.

"Standby for FTL Jump in five minutes" Reported the Tactical officer. "Sir all decks report condition is set, weapons manned and ready, and all launch tubes loaded sir. Ship reports ready for action sir"

"Start the Clock" He said before walking over to review the Raptor data with Commander Devos

ACROPOLIS

"Jump us in one minute ahead of the fleet, outside of weapons range. Then broadcast on all channels, send hostile warning and ID. Demand to know why they fired unprovoked on our Raptor." Ordered Allanna as she let out a deep breath knowing her ship was mere moment's way from jumping into what would undoubtedly turn into a combat situation.

"Aye ma'am." Responder her tactical officer. Her ship was one of the most advanced warships in the Colonies and it was about to make its presence known to whoever had dared fired on her Pilots.

"Standby FTL jump in ten seconds" Said the Tactical officer manning his station to her far right. She was silently proud of her crew at how fast they had reacted to a drastically changing situation. They had been preparing to celebrate the discovery of Kobol only to switch into a combat setting in seconds. They were being professionals she noted, intensely focused on the mission at hand. She and her Xo had trained them well.

STAVANA

Gou'ald death gliders fly unopposed over the terrified locals as they attempted a vain resistance against the three thousand Jaffa that had landed in the Capital city. The Planets only Army stood at only a hundred thousand strong and it was spread out over the planet. Two thousand soldiers were stationed inside the capital with another four thousand just miles away. Those two thousand soldiers had dug in and split into five different groups. One group would lay down a concentrated burst of six round volley fire from their revolver style rifles while the second group would attack the flank. It was succeeding in only slowing down the advancing Jaffa, who were cutting them down by the dozens.

In orbit, the Hatak was firing indiscriminately into the planets population centers killings hundreds with each blow.

The Gou'ald Sarkesh was watching in amusement as her ship rained death onto the planet below. In her mind she could hear her host distantly calling her a monster. But she paid it no mind. Her host was rare in herself. A victim of an unfortunate accident that had left a Hebridian ship drifting in space. Only to be captured by a passing Hatak and taken as a host. Her garments were thin clothes, see through that revealed the beauty of her host. Long flowing black hair fell down to the small of her back while her piercing blue eyes watched as her ship continued to rain death below.

"My lord, we have detected an unknown vessel. It will be upon us in less than two minutes. Another vessel has appeared my lord."

"Why did we not detect them in hyperspace?" She asked annoyed.

"I do not know my lord. They appear to use a method of hyperspace travel that is unknown to me. We are receiving a signal my lord. Audio only"

"Play it!" She ordered her Jaffa. Then she heard a womans voice

"Attention unknown vessel this is the battlestar Acropolis, Cease fire immediately and identify yourself or you will be fired upon." Sarkesh felt her blood begin to boil at the voice who would dare to challenge her. She was a servant of Anubis, and by reclaiming this world she would join him in his attack on earth in the coming future.

"Destroy them" She said as she retook her seat. Her thin dress sliding off on one shoulder.

ACROPOLIS

"Ma'am unknown vessel is unresponsive to hails and is coming about to engage us, bearing 487, coram 221, range twenty two thousand and closing on CBDR. Weapons range in fifteen seconds. They're fighters are also coming up from the surface on an intercept course."

Allanna paused for a brief moment to take in the situation. Looking up at the Dradis as it gave her a clear picture of the situation. "Launch vipers, deploy ECM countermeasures and initiate active jamming. Bring us about on course two oh five, Engines ahead full. Prepare bow batteries for Salvo fire. Concentrate fire on the super structure." She ordered as the Hephaestus began to drop into the planet's Atmosphere and deploy her Marines to aid the Civilians on the ground.

The Battlestars eight engines flared to life as she surged forward at nearly twice the speed of the approaching Hatak. Within seconds her forward facing weapons blared to life as they entered their maximum engagement range. Ahead of the massive behemoth the Air wing approached on two different attack vectors with one flight pod group climbing up the X-axis with the other going down to attack from different angles and trajectories. Over three hundred vipers were now heading towards the advancing death gliders, some still coming up from the planet.

"Designate hostile Hammer one Alpha, designate hostile flight Foxtrots one through seven six. Priority targets are in atmosphere. All Flights cleared weapons free, engage at will." Lt Jessica Brookes heard over her comms frequency as she acquired a missile lock on the first enemy fighter.

"Axe seven, right 30, reference 148, sweet lock, Good tone, Fox Three" She said as her thumb fired off an archer missile. The missile was specially coated with radar absorbing materials to avoid detection. It flew at speeds of nearly three thousand miles an hour. In less than ten seconds it crossed the distance between the two opposing forces. The Death gliders never knew what hit them, their only warning being a small glow from the tail of the missiles exhaust as it flew towards them. The Jaffa had never encountered a Space-faring race other than other Gou'ald and a few relatively minor races that they had made quick work of. Their ships had never been designed to deal with electronic warfare which had essentially blinded them to the approaching Missiles. Forty eight of the death gliders were destroyed before even firing a shot. The remaining fighters realized there only chance was to stay in atmosphere and did exactly that.

"Frak, remaining hostiles are vectoring off. No go for Archers, they'll burn up in atmospheric entry. Close with and engage, I say again all vipers vector new course two seven eight, max out your throttles. Close with and destroy"

"Axe Seven Wilco, Coming right two seven eight. Axe eight, tally bandit right four low and three, eight thousand meters"

"Axe eight copy, right four low and three, rolling in" Said her wingman as he pitched his viper to the right and closed the distance before firing off a quick thirty round burst ripping the retreating enemy fighter to shreds.

HATAK

"My lord all of our sensors have gone dark, we have lost communications with our fighters as well. We can no longer see the enemy" Reported the Jaffa as his voice cracked.

"How?" Asked Sarkesh as turned on her Jaffa. Unnerved by the sound of his voice radiating fear. Fear that she now shared but would never allow to show.

"I am unaware my lord. I have not encountered this before." He replied just as the first rounds slammed into their shields sending them all to their feet. She was stunned. Almost unbelieving of the amount of force that had hit them. She had been in many battles before, but never on the losing side. Which is what she feared she was on now.

"Return fire!" She yelled as more and more rounds hit the shield. The kinetic energy of the rounds themselves were doing the most damage and not the explosives themselves. The explosive force dissipated against the shield rapidly, unable to cause damage. However the Kinetic energy behind the rounds had to be absorbed by the shields, and they were now under immense strain.

"My lord, I will be unable to attack at this distance. Without our sensors we cannot fire accurately, it will be nearly impossible to hit them at this distance." Responded the bald headed Jaffa.

"Then bring us closer and destroy them!" She raged as her personal guard picked themselves off the floor.

HELIOS

Over one hundred and twenty bright flashes of light illuminated the battlefield as the Colonial First Strike group of the Fifth fleet jumped in. It took only moments for the fleet to fire their engines and realign themselves with the new threat. Over a hundred ships were now maneuvering to bring their most devastating weapons to bare against the enemy. Cruisers and destroyers surged ahead of the fleet to lay down a massive field of flak and High Explosive proximity rounds in front of the enemy. Thirty seconds later the battlestars entered their engagement range and fired as one.

"Sir we have negative Impact on the enemy vessel. It appears to have some kind of protective barrier over their hull. But our vipers report it appears to be weakening, visibly fluctuating. Enemy vessels return fire is sporadic and inaccurate sir." Reported the Helios tactical officer as he took in new reports by the second.

"They have frakking shields?" Said Baltar as he looked at a monitor showing to him the unknown vessel. "The power requirements alone would be enormous. It shouldn't take much more fire for them to collapse" He said confidently as he noticed its orange glow was beginning to sputter.

"How much more Doctor?" Said the Admiral as he looked up at the Dradis and noticed the MarineStar diving into the planet's atmosphere.

"Hold on a second" He said as he walked over to another monitor and took over for a crewmember. "It should be collapsing within the next three to four minutes based off these readings."

"Admiral recommend crippling enemy vessel only and initiate boarding action" Said Commander Devos as the Admiral nodded.

"Bring us about course three five seven, have starboard batteries prepare for full broadside. Order Triton and Ares to concentrate fire on their weapon batteries. Have our destroyers and cruisers initiate suppression zones around our primary directions of fire. Have the Acropolis come to position 228 on the X- Axis."

"Aye sir, Hostile Hammer one beginning to show fluctuations in their protective barrier. Acropolis air wing is now chasing down the remaining enemy fighters." Reported the tactical officer as he radioed his report.

Suddenly the ship shook violently as an errant blast from the damaged Hatak struck the ship. It struck the midsection between the alligator head and the engine pods. The super-heated plasma melting through almost six feet of the ships Armor but failing to penetrate. The ships double hull type design had a three meter wide gap between the outer layer of armor and the inner four feet. It stood up surprisingly well to the advanced weaponry of the Gou'ald Hatak.

"Damage report!" Shouted the commander as he looked at the status board.

"Impact on deck seventeen, section twelve, frame thirty eight through forty two. No hull breach, Armor plating took the full hit"

"What's the status of the rest of the fleet" Asked the Admiral as the Battlestar continued to fire relentlessly into the enemy ship.

"Acropolis has taken several hits to their bow and port side but reports minimal damage, two of our cruisers took hits and are reporting hull breaches and several small fires aboard" Was the reply.

"Have the two cruisers withdraw to provide planetary support to the Marines. Prepare boarding parties and copy to all ships"

Within moments the shields of the Hatak failed with one final sputter before the rounds from the battlestars main weapons hit. The outer pylons of the Hatak became engulfed in flames and secondary explosions as the Armor piercing rounds penetrated several decks before detonating. The battlestars now circled their prey like sharks, pouring more and more weapons fire into the ship as they surgically removed its weapons and essential systems. With the combined firepower of five battlestars it took less than thirty seconds before the ship was essentially defeated and the combined boarding parties of five battlestars soon begin the process of cutting through the tough naquadah reinforced hulls. It took them nearly twice as long before the first Raptor reported a successful breach.

HATAK PELTAK

Sarkesh awoke with the sound of staff weapons and loud explosions outside of the Peltak. After only three minutes her Hatak had sustained irreparable damage by the unknown ships. Their hyperdrive had been the first to sustain damage. Energy feedback from the shields had damaged one of the main power conduits, and it wasn't something that could be repaired in the middle of a battle. She knew she had lost when she saw not one but two of the gargantuan ships out of her viewport with several dozen smaller ones in between. She had never seen so much weapons fire before and in truth she was shocked. They used primitive projectile weaponry which shouldn't have been as successful as it had been against her. But the velocity of the rounds has increased their effectiveness. Added to the shear amount of weapons fire that had been directed at the shields and she understood how she had lost so fast. Now she was worried for her own life as she looked at the screen before. Her shields were completely depleted, several decks were open to space and over half the ship was inaccessible including the secondary hanger where her teltak was. She was essentially trapped in her own Hatak. Which had become her tomb. Another warning flashed on her screen that showed intruders aboard. 'They will pay for this arrogance' she thought to herself as she noticed they were not far away from her. 'Who could have the power to do this?' She thought to herself as she turned towards the door in preparation to move away from the incoming enemy warriors.

She saw her Jaffa at the door as he fired his staff weapon down the hall. Suddenly and without warning his torso exploded showering her with his blood and organs. It was gruesome and it nearly gave her the urge to vomit, but such a thing was unworthy of a god. She suppressed the human instinct and instead turned around to find a weapon to defend herself with. Before she had taken even a step she was hit in the shoulder. The force spun her around to land on her back and she could feel the warm liquid of her hosts blood pour out of her. Men in black surrounded her as they screamed commands at her. Had she just been taken prisoner?

RAPTOR 278

Lt Amelia Balist watched as the marines climbed through the hatch and into the unknown alien ship. She was sweating profusely as she heard the gunfire come through the hatch. Instinctively her ECO pulled out his sidearm and aimed it down the hatch. She did the same listening as the sounds of the Marines moved off.

Gunnery Sergeant Aaron Mecks leaned around the corner as he moved forward with his fire team. His platoon was advancing fast. The unknown hostiles seemed unable to coordinate an effective defense or even slow him and his marines down as they advanced. Their armor was ineffective against rounds designed to penetrate the armor of Cylon centurions, and he had to admit they were creating gruesome effects on the enemy. Their chain link like armor littered the floor in pieces from the explosive force of their rounds. Pieces of mangled remains and lifeless bodies filled the hallways behind them as the hallways literally became red with blood. Very few of his Marines had been wounded or killed. He was surprised that it was going well for them. But he knew any plan could go wrong at an instant, so he was on guard for a possible counterattack.

"Right side, hallway five meters front." He directed his machine gunner forward passed the small alcove that was blocking his view as they moved forward to what they guessed was the ships bridge. A quick burst from him and machine gunner brought down the two guards outside of it as they moved in only to find a woman walking away. He put one quick round through her shoulder to bring her to the ground as his marines moved in and scanned the room. "Clear!" He heard them say as he focused on the woman before him.

"Bag her, get her to the acropolis."

It took less than an hour for the Marines to secure the ship, compartments that were open to space even had Marines in Zero G combat suits in them. Once the ship was secured, the Marines began inventorying everything they could. Detailed photographs were taken of literally every inch of the ship. The bodies of what they learned were now aliens were removed and taken to a temporary morgue in the ships cargo bay. The temperature was then lowered to preserve the remains for study and autopsy. The small snake like creatures inside them, were mostly dead, but the few Jaffa that had been captured claimed they couldn't be removed or they would die. Of the six thousand Jaffa on board, only four hundred had been captured by the Marines. The remaining three thousand were planet side, and being swept aside with ease by the Colonial Marines Corps thirteenth Expeditionary Brigade. The locals were surprisingly more advanced and knowledgeable about the Galaxy and the existence of aliens than the Colonials had initially believed.

In the CIC of the helios, unknown to any of the crew stood a being in pure white robes and flowing tentacles. The only human part of it was its face. A distinctively female face that any colonial would have recognized as belonging to Athena herself. She smiled to herself as she watched the Raptors come and go from the disabled Hatak. As the Raptors left they carried components to be studied by the CID aboard the battlestars and returned with scientists and techs from the civilian fleet. The technology they were recovering was so far beyond theirs that even Baltar was having trouble understanding it all.

SGC

The men of 1st Platoon, Devastator Squadron, were slowly recovering from their last mission. A lucky staff blast had sidelined MSG Wells. The blast only grazed his side but he had continued on with the mission till the mine was clear and the local slaves had been relocated through the gate. Now they were in a reset phase, performing maintenance on weapons and equipment, taking care of personal issues or any Admin problems. Reset phase typically lasted a week, then it was back to team, and sometimes even squad sized missions.

SGC

Colonel Marion Riles was reviewing the latest reports from SG-9 when his counterpart from G-2 came in, Colonel Rebecca Bane.

"You aren't going to believe this" She said as she handed him a folder that said TOP SECRET over the top of it. He quickly opened it up and began to read.

INTELLIGENCE REPORT

SG-7 REPORTS INTERCEPT OF CRITIC LEVEL MESSAGE BETWEEN GOU'ALD COMMANDERS LOYAL TO ANUBIS. MESSAGE DETAILS HATAK CLASS VESSEL LOSS WHILE ATTEMPTING TO RECLAIM LOST NAQUADAH MINING WORLD ONCE BELONGING TO ANUBIS.

HATAL BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN DISABLED AND THEN BOARDED BY UNKNOWN FORCES, USING TECHNOLOGY SIMILAR TO THAT IN USE BY US FORCES AT PRESENT TIME. JAFFA ON SURFACE REPORT USE OF MECHANIZED VEHICLES AND EXTREMLEY ACCURATE AND CONSISTENT AIR SUPPORT BEFORE THEIR WITHDRAWL THROUGH THE STARGATE.

UNKNOWN FORCES BELIEVED TO HAVE CLAIMED FORMER MINING WORLD AS PROTECTORATE. ANUBIS HAS DECLARED ENTIRE REGION OFF-LIMITS DUE TO SPEED AT WHICH FORCES IN ORBIT WERE DEFEATED. BELIEVED TO RIVAL CURRENT GOU'ALD SHIPS IN MASS.

He looked up at her for a brief second before replying "Why would he declare the region off limits?"

"I cant say for sure, but think about it. He's already fighting the other system lords and us, and the Asgard. The very last thing he can afford is another enemy on another front. Especially with technology that potentially rivals their own." She said as he nodded in agreement. It made sense, and if it was true?

"So who are these people?" He asked her as he put the report down.

"No idea, but we do have the gate address, so it's a good bet that they're still there" She replied grinning.

"You think they'll be open to making contact?" He replied getting hopeful.

"I wouldn't get my hopes up not yet anyway. We have no idea their interest in this world or why they came to its defense. But what they did is impressive." She said to him already knowing where he was going.

"We need to brief General Hammond".

BATTLESTAR ACROPOLIS ORBIT OF STAVANA

While the Expeditonary fleet had proceeded to Kobol to begin the archeological study and exploration the military had gone into full overdrive on Stavana. The thirteenth expeditionary brigade had quickly deposed of the Jaffa on the ground and secured the capital. Then they had immediately withdrawn from the local inhabitants. Civilian contact teams from the expeditionary fleet had been brought in to establish contact while detached agents of the Federal Police provided security. What they were learning was ground breaking and shattering. Not only did the locals know of hundreds of other human populated worlds but they knew how to use the stargate. A device in itself that had amazed the Colonials. A quick study by Doctor Baltar had confirmed its theoretical possibility but to actually do it had left him amazed. To most of the Civilian fleet, the events concerning the combat operations and now occupation of the newly discovered world were still highly classified. Only those that had been brought in or were on the surface knew of the events that were happening.

Admiral William Brantley was in shock over the revelations of the last two days. Their new enemy now had a name: The Gou'ald. A race of parasites that medical forensics and autopsy had confirmed took control of the human body and used it to its will. An apparent intelligence had revealed itself almost immediately once they had begun interrogating their prisoners. The one called Sarkesh was his top focus. The local population had confirmed that the Jaffa were essentially slaves to the Snake like creatures, requiring them to live. He was feeling overwhelmed by the new revelations that were coming to light. Soon the locals that were working with his translators on the surface would be able to teach them the language of their enemy. Then his Intelligence analysts could go to work. The ships data core was relatively untouched and intact. Which meant they had everything they needed to start planning decisive action operations against their new enemy. What had surprised him the most was the revelations that there were hundreds if not thousands of human populated worlds in the Galaxy, and a vast majority of them were slaves. He couldn't stop the rumors from spreading among his crew. In fact he didn't want to, the more people who knew the truth essentially guaranteed the Colonies would take action. The civilian fleet had continued on to Kobol, to discover the ancient homeworld of humanity.

But he had other things to worry about now. The Colonies had just gone to war. It was essentially guaranteed. The Gou'ald had fired unprovoked on a Colonial Vessel and then invaded a sovereign nation without cause or justification. Over three hundred thousand civilians had been killed as a result.

"Sir, our intel teams have sent their report." Said Commander Devos

"Lets see it" He said as the commander handed him the folder.

ANAYLSIS OF GOUALD FORCE STRUCTURE, TACTICS AND DEPLOYMENTS

ENEMY VESSEL HAS NO COUNTERMEASURES TO ELECTRONIC OR SIGNALS JAMMING. ECM FROM ATTACKING COLONIAL VESSELS EFFECTIVLEY BLINDED ENEMY SENSORS AND TARGETING SYSTEMS RESULTING IN SPORADIC AND INACCURATE WEAPONS FIRE ON COLONIAL VESSELS

ENEMY WEAPON SYSTEM FAR SUPERIOR IN MASS AGAINST COLONIAL WEAPON SYSTEMS . COLONIAL VESSELS OF LIGHTLY ARMORED DESIGN WILL SUSTAIN HEAVY AND POSSIBLY FATAL DAMAGE IF OUTNUMBERED OR ECM AND ACTIVE JAMMING MEASURES FAIL

VIPERS AND RAPTORS HAVE SUPERIORITY IN ALL REGARDS, ENEMY FIGHTERS SHOW LACK OF CONCEPT OF ZERO-G COMBAT MANUEVERS AND TACTICS. VIPERS MAINTAIN SPEED AND FIREPOWER SUPERIORITY, HOWEVER ONE SUCCESSFUL BLAST FROM ENEMY FIGHTER WILL BE SUFFICENT TO DESTROY OR HEAVILY DAMAGE VIPERS AND RAPTORS.

RECOMMEND UTILIZING STANDOFF RANGE MUNITIONS TO MINIMIZE CASUALTIES AND DAMAGE

INTELLIGENCE GAINED FROM LOCAL POPULATION SUGGESTS EXISTENCE OF THOUSANDS OF HUMAN POPULATED WORLDS, BELIEVED TO BE MAINLY UNDER CONTROL OF GOU'ALD FORCES

GOU'ALD FORCES ARE NOT UNITED AS ONE COHESIVE FORCE.

MAJOR GOU'ALD POWERS CALLED THE SYSTEM LORDS CURRENTLY ENGAGED IN GALACTIC WAR AGAINST OTHER GOU'ALD FORCES.

ESTIMATED SIZE OF ENEMY FORCE BELIEVED TO NUMBER IN HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS IN TERMS OF GROUND TROOPS, SLAVE/LABOR FORCE BELIEVED TO BE IN BILLIONS. INTELLIGENCE UNITS UNABLE TO VERIFY OR CONFIRM AT THIS TIME

LOCAL POPULATION HAS PROVIDED THE GATE ADDRESSES FOR OVER THREE HUNDRED WORLDS THROUGH THE STARGATE, COLONIAL SCIENTISTS CONFIRM STARGATE VIABILITY

ENEMY PRISONERS CONFIRM THEIR ALLEGIANCE TO SYSTEM LORD ANUBIS, PREVIOUSLY EXILED SYSTEM LORD WHO AIMS TO UNITE ALL GOU'ALD UNDER HIS DOMAIN

THREAT PRIORITY FROM ANUBIS DEEMED AS CRITICAL

NAVIGATIONAL DATA FROM CAPTURED ENEMY VESSEL HAS REVEALED LOCATION OF MAJOR ENEMY SHIPYARD AND PRODUCTION FACILITY LOCATED APPROXIMATLEY SIXTEEN S.U. FROM MAIN KOBOLIAN STAR

ENEMY FORCE PRESENT BELIEVED TO BE ONLY SIX OPERATIONAL HATAK VESSELS, GROUND FORCE ESTIMATED AT ONE MILLION. RECOMMEND RECON MISSIONS TO GATHER INTELLIGENCE AND GENERATE STRIKE OPTIONS FOR HIGHER COMMAND AUTHORITY

FIRST STRIKE GROUP IN SIMULATED ATTACK ON ENEMY SHIPYARD IS AN OVERWHELMING VICTORY RESULTING IN MINIMAL LOSS OF COLONIAL FORCES AND COMPLETE DESTRUCTION OF GOU'ALD FORCES

INTELLIGENCE GAINED FROM INTERROGATION OF HATAK CAPTAIN GOUALD SARKESH REVEALS EXISTENCE OF EARTH AS MAJOR COMBATANT AGAINST GOU'ALD FORCES.

EARTH HEAVILY OUTNUMBERED AGAINST ENEMY FLEET UNITS. BELIEVED TO BE USING ELITE UNITS OF SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES TO CONDUCT GUREILLA WARFARE AGAINST GOU'ALD FORCES.

EARTH STRATEGY BELIEVED TO BE ONE LAUNCHING SURGICAL STRIKES AGAINST TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY USING ENEMY ARROGANCE AND MILITARY SUPERIORITY AGAINST GOU'ALD FORCES TO MAXIMUM EFFECT.

***ENEMY PRISONERS REVEAL ANUBIS PLANS TO ATTACK EARTH WITHIN THE NEXT THREE MONTHS***

"Anubis is planning to attack earth!" Said William as he finished reading the report.

"It appears that way sir. Earth is apparently a major player on the galactic scale albeit fairly new. They apparently launched the all out war the gou'ald are currently in by killing Ra, former supreme supreme system lord. Now they're all fighting to see who the next one is. Earth is using that war against them to great effect sir."

"I can see the strategy, bide their time, wait until the enemy is weak and strike with everything they got" He replied as let out a long breath

"They wont win, not without major help sir" Replied his commander.

"I agree, Kobol and Stanava are secured for now. The fleet will take steps to ensure they stay that way. But right now our major priorities need to be R&D and development of new weapons systems. Especially shielding, in a mass engagement they wont need to be accurate to inflict heavy damage on us" He said drinking from his cup of tea.

"I agree sir, but what about earth. It may take too long to develop those systems before earth is attacked" Replied Devos with concern

"We may have to suffer some heavy losses but the President isn't going to allow earth to be destroyed. We're going to war, there's no doubting it" He replied with a steely resolve.

Sitting besides both men Athena smiled, the two men completely unaware of their goddess sitting next to them

SGC

"Alright SG-1, SG-5, and SG-7, you're mission is to ascertain the identity of these people and determine their intentions. I don't need to tell you that we need allies and we need them now. God speed people"

As the gate dialed and the gate room technicians prepared to send the MALP through Colonel Jack O'neill looked over at Teal'c and said "T you ever heard of someone besides the Asgard being able to take down a hatak like that report said they did?"

Teal'c raised an eyebrow and replied "I have not O'neill. But they appear to be a formidable enemy to Anubis and would none the less make an invaluable ally"

"That's a given sir, hell the Prometheus is a match for maybe one Hatak but against more than that. I wouldn't take my chances sir"

"So lets go make some new friends then" He replied as the MALP went through.

STANAVA

Arrayed around the gate were the eighteen Scorpion main battle tanks of the Colonial Marine Corps. Their massive 140mm main gun barrels were pointed directly at the main opening of the gate as it activated. Surrounding them were over a thousand Colonial Marines with vipers flying close by ready to provide air support if needed.

Slowly the Malp exited the event horizon and immediately came to a stop.

SGC

"Whoa, that is a lot of guns!" Said O'neill looking at the screen.

"They're tech is nearly identical to ours." Said Daniel Jackson as he looked closely at the monitor

"Open a channel" Said General Hammond as Walters did

"This is General George Hammond of the Tauri. We were informed by one of our allies that you defeated an attacking Gou'ald force on this planet. If that is true, we share a common enemy. Would you be interested in opening diplomatic negotiations for a military alliance against the Gou'ald?"

The General saw a lot of the men around the gate visibly relax alittle and one man come forward.

"Can you hear me?" The man asked as he came close to the MALP

"Yes, the Probe is equipped with a microphone and camera that can see and hear you" Replied General Hammond.

"Good, Im Colonel Tillian. You are correct we did defeat the Gou'ald forces attacking this planet. As such we have declared it a protectorate of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. I will relay your request for diplomatic negotiations to our fleet commander, and I assure you that any personnel you send will be granted full diplomatic protection under our laws"

"Excellent, we extend the same protections to your diplomats as well. We have a team standing by, do we have permission to send them through" The man nodded his reply.

"Colonel, you have a go" Said General Hammond as the teams left the control room and walked up the ramp and through the stargate. Once again a being of all white stood beside those in the control room and smiled before flying off unseen by those present.

Thanks for reading and i sincerely hope you enjoyed. I plan on writing much much more as i already have the outline for the direction this story will go, pretty much done. The first chapter is mainly establishing the foundations of the story. Mostly from the Colonial side but later chapters will focus heavily on the earth side of things. Please review and let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you all for the many reviews and follows. To those saying I made the Colonials too powerful. I have not. They and the Tauri will have to face many challenges together. I do not plan to make them enemies. For now at least. Please review once again and enjoy.

STAVANNA SIX DAYS AFTER HATAK CAPTURE

As SG-1 stepped through the gate they were greeted by a tall grey haired Colonial Troop with a squad of me around him at the base of the gate. Small dart like craft flew off in the distance and O'Neill could see other craft even farther off. Undoubtedly troop transports. This was a very large military operation and truthfully he was impressed as hell.

"Welcome to Stavana I'm Colonel Tillian. Colonial Marine Corps." Said the intimidating 42 year old dark skinned Colonial Marine.

"Well you people sure did do a number on the Jaffa here. Colonel Jack O'Neill United States Air Force" Said Colonel O'Neill as he looked around before introducing the rest of the team. The rest of SG 5 and 7 were arrayed around them in a half circle. O'Neill had given the order before coming through the gate not to do anything that might be constituted for hostilities. Colonial Tillian noticed Teal'c' Mark of Apophis but didn't say anything. The Colonial Marines behind the Colonel were watching their counterparts closely. Watching for any signs of aggression or sudden moves.

"We won before the battle even started. From what we've learned from our prisoners, they had never encountered a mechanized force before. Much less one with air support. Our only limitations was limiting collateral damage and civilian casualties"

"Speaking of the local population. What exactly are you guys doing with them?" Asked Daniel Jackson as he looked around.

"We have engineers helping to repair structural damage. Civil Affairs teams are also out and about assisting where they can as well as cultivating intelligence sources."

"I think what I meant is more of long term?" Replied Daniel trying to see what kind of people they were. In the past the SGC had come across many different races with a military encounter being their first contact. Not all of them had gone well.

Colonel Tillian turned and looked at him "That decision isn't up to me Dr. Jackson. But if I had to take a guess I'd say the Colonial Government will more than likely establish a garrison. Assist the Local population. Hire them to help build mines and more than likely over time grant them citizenship into the Colonies" His answer seemed to satisfy Daniel as he smiled back at the man.

"You would be correct Colonel Tillian. Jaffa Forces would be most unprepared for a force like yours. We have no concept of Mechanized vehicles, Combined arms maneuver warfare or Close in combat support. Nor do we employ long range artillery as you do." Said Teal'c noticing the many craters were the rounds had hit.

"I couldn't help but notice you said we Mr. Teal'c?" Replied the Colonial Marine while the troops around him got a little more edgy. Marines nearby perked up and grips got tighter around weapons. Something that made Jack tense was the way the Colonials reacted. It was something he had seen many times in his long career in the Air Force. It was at that moment Jack knew these were professionals, driven, motivated and deadly. They had developed an instant hate for their new enemy. Cold calculating looks now looked Teal'c up and down sizing up the threat he could pose. In his mind the Colonials were racking up points.

"I serve a false god no more Colonel. My allegiance is to the Tau'ri" He replied sternly.

"Teal'c has served alongside us for almost seven years now. He's a very valuable ally and friend." Said Major Carter as she came to her friend's defense.

"I see, Colonial Intelligence would more than likely like to spend some time with you"

"Ah! Hold it, let's not go getting all skippy just yet. We still don't know who you people are." Said Colonel O'Neill uncomfortable with the idea of any intelligence folk spending time with Teal'c.

"I Understand Colonel. My Apologizes for getting ahead of myself. One of our Battlestar Commanders and a diplomatic team are on their way. They'll be here within the half hour. In the meantime we have a tent set up this way" He replied.

"Lead the way" Said Daniel as pointed ahead. "Follow me please" Said Colonel Tillian as he turned and walked towards the massive Scorpion tank behind them.

Colonel O'Neill was taking in everything he saw. He was impressed with the discipline from the Colonial troops that he had seen so far. They were quick to respond to orders, acknowledged superiors by rank and title and seemed to maintain professional bearing and appearances. They're rifles he noticed were similar to theirs as well. But noticeably different as well. The barrels were larger, probably packing a much higher caliber round

"So Colonel, what exactly do you guys call yourself? Your people I mean as a civilization you must have a name for yourself." Asked Dr. Jackson walking next to him.

"The Twelve Colonies of Kobol doctor. I'm from Virgon myself"

"Isn't that like a Zodiac thing?" Said Colonel O'Neill while looking out towards the city.

"Um no that's Virgo. Obviously over thousands of years the language changes, slight deviations are normal if they're related to anything on earth" The Instant he said the word earth Colonel Tillian stopped in his tracks.

"Did you just say Earth?" He said while letting his mouth stay open.

"Um yes, Earth. The Tauri is what the rest of the Galaxy call us. It means people of the first world." Replied Dr. Jackson instantly noticing the word meant more than he was catching on to.

"Our ancient history tells us of a thirteenth Colony called Earth. It is said they left Kobol long ago and journeyed far to a distant and unknown star." Said the Colonial looking back and forth between the members of SG-1. "We were united once, perhaps we can be so again" He said before turning and walking back towards the tent.

"Uh Daniel, you don't really think we're wayward cousins and all do you?" Said O'Neill when the Colonel was far enough away.

"Obviously not, all fossilized evidence says Humanity evolved on earth. I mean Earth is a common name for the ground itself. Its possible they were taken from Earth. Id, Id have to take a look at their history, their culture. I mean." He was cut off by a wave of the hand from O'Neill.

"Okay play along until Daniel can figure out what these guys are talking about. I don't want a repeat of evil space Nazis. We have enough enemies as it is. Let's not piss these people off"

"Understood sir" Replied Major Carter.

As SG-1 entered the tent they were surprised to see it was the main command tent. Screens lined the walls displaying tactical data as well radar pictures. Radios were being used and the units deployed could be seen on a flat screen display on a system nearly identical to the Blue-Force Tracker used by the US Military.

"They must not see us a threat to bring us into their command center" Said Major Carter as she studied some nearby screens. She could clearly see a display of the planet as a whole and noticed what looked like a very large fleet presence in orbit. That gave her chills.

"Colonel O'Neill allow me to introduce Major Kelsey Lorraine. Our brigade Intelligence officer. She's been at the forefront of all our prisoner interrogations and gained us a vast amount of useable intelligence." Said Colonel Tillian introducing the tall blonde haired woman from Picon. She was attractive but O'Neill had seen plenty of attractive Intel officers to know she was deadly just by her looks.

"Thank you sir, it's a pleasure to meet fellow warriors from the Thirteenth. Truly it's an honor. I hope you don't mind. But from what I've gathered from some of our prisoners, Earth is currently engaged with enemy forces known as the Goa'uld throughout the Galaxy. The only thing holding the enemy back is apparently some treaty and the fact that none of the goa'uld trust each other. No one goa'uld can attack you without opening up a window of opportunity for another to attack them, and from what I've learned you guys are doing one hell of a job" She said with her soft seductive accent that surprised him momentarily.

Colonel O'Neill was instantly on guard. The woman didn't waste any time getting straight to the point and asking potentially critical and dangerous intelligence to be confirmed. He could tell she was a good intelligence officer.

"Well yes actually that pretty much sums it up" Said Daniel before he could respond.

"Daniel, stop talking" He said before he could say anything else. Daniel was obviously taken aback by her attractiveness.

"You're not Military are you Doctor Jackson?" She asked noticing how the Colonel used his first name with a slight smile towards him.

"Um no. Im actually a civilian archaeologist, and language expert. Study extensively in ancient cultures. Id be happy to show you. Or um assist you in those matters" He said earning a small smile from the woman. Jack could tell Daniel was smitten and he inwardly groaned.

"I'd be glad to work with you Doctor Jackson" She replied to a roll of the eyes from Carter.

"He's basically our team geek. Major Carter is the tech Nerd" Said O'Neill offering a small smile.

"And Mr. Teal'c here?" She asked questioningly noticing the mark on his forehead that was different from the Jaffa they had killed or captured.

"He's our real life Chewbacca" Said Colonel O'Neill with a shit-eating grin. The Colonials Frowned in confusion. Carter and Jackson lowered their heads and smiled as Teal'c raised his head with pride.

BATTLESTAR ACROPOLIS

PLANETARY ORBIT DEFENSE PATROL

The Acropolis and the one hundred and twenty other ships of the Colonial Third Fleets First Strike group were scattered throughout the system in varying patrol routes and defensive postures. The Acropolis bore the scorch marks of several devastating hits from the Hatak. While the actual blast had caused limited damage, the resulting fires it caused had not. A long gash now decorated her portside bow. The outer layer of armor had been penetrated but the inner layer had held surprisingly well to the super-heated plasma. Unlike the bow where the blast had penetrated and vented a compartment to space along with the twenty crewmembers in there. Several other large holes now pot marked her portside armored plating. The port flight pod had also taken a few hits.

"DC teams report the structural damage has mostly been repaired, sections that were compromised during the fight have been sealed and re-pressurized. Total casualty report as of 0600 hours is one hundred and nine dead, three hundred and forty seven wounded." Reported Colonel Davos as Allanna sat behind her desk. Sighing heavily she looked up from her desk. No Commander ever wanted to lose troops under their command. It weighed heavily on her but she knew they wouldn't be the last. The Colonies were going to war and she was going to be at the tip of the spear.

"Thank you Colonel." She said before opening her eyes " Let's get to the Hanger deck. Go and meet our Earth Cousins apparently." She said as she stood up and walked out of her cabin. Her Marine guards falling into step behind her.

"Done what we can to keep a lid on the things we've learned so far but word keeps getting out." Said Colonel Davos from her left as they walked out.

"And what is the crew saying?" She asked as she saluted passing crewmembers. She knew the rumors were spreading like wildfire. They always did aboard warships.

"I think the better question is what aren't they saying?" He replied to her.

"Been a hell of week. Kobol expedition reports mission success. They've begun exploring the ruins. Even found human remains apparently" She said remembering the report she had received earlier.

"Yeah, can't wait to see that. The crew is anxious to hear our next move concering Anubis" Said her XO with a hint of excitement.

"What do they know?" She asked him.

"They know we have the location of a major enemy shipyard as well locations of hundreds of other targets. Rumor is the Admiral is considering a strike Op" He said as they turned towards a ladder leading to the hanger deck.

"Not that I'm aware of. Intelligence gathering mission only. Forty Raptors. According to Doctor Baltar and our engineering analysis. The Hatak we defeated was recovered by Anubis from a two thousand year old graveyard and repaired, but just barely" She said with a somber tone. When Baltar had told them how lucky she had been it had almost made her ill. Only her training and deep sense of professionalism had helped her not to be.

"What are you saying?" Davos asked with a look of confusion.

"That Hatak wasn't upgraded to the latest specs. It was outdated, in need of a massive overhaul to its systems. Anubis has been raiding the locations of his last battles and recovering ships to rebuild his Army and fleet. That Hatak out there wasn't even at a quarter of its strength. Hell its subspace communications weren't even online. Nowhere close to it. He sent it out here just to secure the planet and transport a garrison. You can't send gliders through a gate. It wasn't going to stay. Hell most of the ships system weren't even fully operational. He thought it would be a quick snatch and grab op. So he didn't commit a fully operational ship of the line." She explained to her XO's dismay.

"So if it had been at full strength?" He asked as they went down the stairway to the hanger deck.

"We wouldn't be here right now. The Helios strike group more than likely would have won by sheer numbers alone. But not without heavy casualties and lots of ships lost. We got lucky" She said as he looked at her.

"Why would he send a ship in such a state of disarray into a hostile situation like that?" He asked his commander.

"He wasn't expecting a fight. Nobody thinks anything is out here. Apparently this area of space is barren. According to the Goa'uld Sarkesh, he's desperate for more resources. Naquadah especially. Which is that super conductive material we found." She replied as they turned another corridor.

"If the information provided from the Jaffa is correct. He's stretched thin at the present time. Attacking a shipyard or two could give his enemies the opportunity they need." He said with a grin.

"Maybe, but any attack we launch would suffer heavy damage. It may not even succeed. An upgraded force of four Hataks would be enough to decimate the strike group we have here and at Kobol." She replied with a hint of concern in her voice.

"Frak me. What about that other ship we found over Kobol?" He asked as they climbed down a ladder leading to the hanger pods.

"That's where it gets interesting. It uses a much more advanced form of crystalline technology. It's literally on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. Best thing is, its operating system and whatever writing we found in it is in Ancient Kobolian. We have people in the Expeditionary fleet that were able to help us write a translation program. So interfacing our systems with that ship isn't a problem anymore. Took some trial and error and lot of frustration from our tech weenies but they got it working." She replied having been amazed at the technology of the green craft. They both walked down the stairs that led to the hanger deck and saluted passing crewmembers.

"So who did it belong to?" He asked as they walked toward the Raptor.

"From what we've been able to translate a race called the Lanteans" She replied as they climbed into the raptor and the hatched closed.

Ares, the Ancient god of war, Former Lantean General, and member of the last council of twelve stood at the base of the Raptor and smiled a predatory grin. Unseen and unheard by the many colonials near him he said "The hour of destiny approaches."

KOBOL

The priestess Agola smiled as she walked the ruins of the great Opera Hall. The revelations of the last few days had left her stunned. Being in the middle of a war was the last thing she had ever expected to happen during this expedition. Truthfully the experience had shaken her. She had a new respect for the military after being in the CIC during a major battle. She had been a witness to more historical events in the last week then she could comprehend. Doctor Harryet had shocked her when he said that the Gods used technology. It was surprising and somewhat unsettling. But being here only reaffirmed her faith. Now her she stood on Holy ground. Truly she believed she was blessed. She heard someone approaching her and turned around.

"Priestess, we found these in a chamber not far from here. It's amazing, the technology of the gods is beyond my understanding but it is truly wonderful" Said the man who approached her. A fellow priest from Caprica

"Technology?" She asked as she examined the cylindrical shaped crystal handed to her. It was smooth at the top with a yellow circle in the middle and lines of different angles and lengths jutting out from it. Near the bottom other colors appeared as the crystal cut off into jagged edges.

"Yes, at first we thought this was broken, but then we found eleven more just like it. All in some type of storage box with Kobolian writing. Each was marked differently." He said as Agola touched the large crystal in her hand. It was smooth and cold. She suddenly felt a cold rush of air and a shiver went up her spine. She looked up as the sky suddenly grew dark.

"You have taken the first steps of many to come." The voice pierced the air between them like a thunderbolt. Aaron the priest from Caprica looked around frightened. Agola stood there too afraid to move. Her eyes darted from left to right trying to see where it had come from. But she saw everyone else was doing the same.

"Do not be afraid. You are here as it is meant to be my Children. Your destiny was written long ago. Assume the mantle we have entrusted to you. Let our legacy guide you and all who follow you to victory. Trust in the Tauri. From them, you were born. And to them, you shall return." Agola was shocked as the sky returned to normal. She breathed for what felt like the first time in hours.

"The Lords of Kobol have spoken to us. They have blessed us." Said Priest Aaron as he fell to his knees out of respect and awe. Looking around Agola noticed everyone had heard the voice as they had. Many were crying, others smiling and laughing. Unaware that the Galaxy had changed forever by their arrival on Kobol.

BATTLESTAR ARES ORBITAL DEFENSE PATROL OF KOBOL

"Commander. Damage report from the Chief." Said an Ensign as he handed over a report.

"Thank you Ensign" Said Commander David Crowley.

"Eighteen dead and forty three wounded. From three direct hits, Two whole sections damaged." If that ship had been at full fighting strength he wouldn't be here right now he thought to himself. Currently the Ares and Triton were providing security over Kobol with their assigned escorts while the rest of the strike group was at Stavanna.

"Hell of a fight sir. Our crews did well." Said his XO Colonel Stacey Veil. A native of Canceron and his XO of two years.

"We got lucky. But our crew did exceptional. Make sure Admin and personnel updates everyone's personnel records for awarding of the Halo stars for their jump wings and Combat action medals as well" He said with a slight grin. His crew was all almost brand new, something he had been uncomfortable with at the start of the expedition. But over the last four weeks in the train up to departure and their confrontation with the Hatak they had demonstrated how much of a true first rate crew they were.

"Sad fact is, once we get back to Caprica. Fleetcom will rotate out half the crew to whole other fleets. We'll have an entirely new crew to train." She replied with a shake of the head. It was inevitable no matter how much she would fight it.

"Our strike group is the only one with any combat experience of any tactical significance. Other ships and units will need people will combat time in the upcoming war" He replied to her.

"You think the Admiral is going to order an attack?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It wouldn't surprise me. But I think he's going to pass the buck on this one to the President. Word is the presidential envoy is raising all hell about getting us into a war without the approval of the Quorum and the President."

"I can understand his viewpoint, but the longer we wait the more time the enemy has to solidify his defenses and prepare for a possible attack" She countered.

"I know that. So does the Admiral. However that decision is above my paygrade." He said sadly. "However that doesn't mean we can't prepare for the possibility. I want drills and exercises planned for all departments by the end of the day. Begin implementing them tomorrow at 1200 hours" He ordered as his XO nodded and saluted.

HELIOS

Admiral William Brantley was in his quarters reading the daily intelligence report he got from his interrogators aboard the Hephaestus.

He was shocked by all that they had learned so far. Hundreds of worlds populated by humans. Almost all slaves at the hands of a parasitic enemy known as the Goa'uld. Ancient civilizations predating their own. It contrasted starkly with everything that he had been taught growing up. Yet the evidence was undeniable. They were not alone, and the Galaxy was a very dark place indeed. The things he had learned scared him. What worried him the most was how vastly outnumbered they were. The enemy had thousands of ships and millions of troops if not hundreds of millions. The Colonial fleet had a total of Four million active duty service members and another million and a half in reserve. The Marines had less than 800,000. The army only slightly more at two million. Colonial civilization was about to radically change. It had too. They didn't have a choice. Everything they had learned told them the Goa'uld did not tolerate threats to their empire, and that's exactly what they were.

Initially the Jaffa had been uncooperative and combative. Once they saw their god scream at the hands of Colonial Interrogators, a vast majority renounced their loyalty to the Goa'uld. From then on, they had almost struggled to process all they had learned. Sarkesh however had still refused to talk after revealing only little information about her god Anubis. She claimed he would destroy them and Earth together. Lately she had been resisting interrogation entirely except to scream in pain.

He now knew the locations of every major Goa'uld world in the Galaxy under the control of Anubis. Thanks to Doctor Baltar being able to hack into the Hataks computer systems with the help of a few former slaves. He had been surprised to learn how knowledgeable the former slaves were. They had walked the Colonial engineers through the major systems giving them a basic understanding of the operating systems. Despite the state of disrepair the ship had been in, they had learned much. The former slaves had even helped them with translating the Goa'uld language. They were grateful to be freed. Convincing them they served false gods was a simple manner of showing them the dead Goa'uld symbiotes and seeing the Goa'uld Sarkesh in shackles. A few held out against the Colonials however. They were separated from the rest and subjected to much harsher interrogation.

The Stavannian government had agreed to take them in as refugees and provide for them. Which pleased him greatly. His overall plans for the world were to essentially leave them be to develop in peace with a small colonial presence in the city for early warning and as a diplomatic outpost. On the other side of the planet however the fleet had already established a garrison and airstrip.

"Alright what do you think?" He said to his XO Commander Devos

"We're in over our heads sir. This is world shattering shit. We should send the Orion back to the Colonies. With the captured prisoners and the green ship we found"

"Why the green ship?" He asked confused.

"It's unlike the Goa'uld. It's more advanced. If we can reverse engineer anything it should be it. Imagine if we can rid ourselves of the need for Tylium. Whole restrictions on our fleets would be gone. We would only need it for the FTL drive. Vipers, Raptors, Shuttles with almost unlimited range. We could launch strikes from beyond visual range with no limitations. Imagine if we could integrate their operating systems with ours. The Cylons wouldn't stand a chance of hacking it." William let his mind wonder at the advantages it could give them before responding.

"Alright, do it. Send the Orion, have the Acropolis and the cruisers Theseus and Odysseus go to. They'll need some time in the repair yards. Best to get a head start on it. Make sure all information we have on the Goa'uld and Kobol go with them once Commander Staiuto is done with meeting with the Tauri"

"Yes sir. How is that going by the way?"

"Don't know yet. She only just got to the surface."

STAVANNA

Colonel Jack O'Neill watched as the Colonial troops came and went. Paying them almost no attention as they went about their duties.

Colonel Tillian was speaking to a radio operator when he began walking towards them. Major Lorraine stepped up behind him.

"Colonel" He said catching O'Neills attention

"Yes Colonel" He replied.

"Commander Staiuto has landed, she'll be here momentarily" He said nodding at him.

"Thank you, I look forward to meeting her" He replied as the rest of SG-1 stood up and waited next to them.

"So sir. What exactly are our objectives in this meeting?" Said Carter while looking at the entrance

"Make new friends. Ones with big honking space guns" He said with a smile. Carter smiled back at him before nodding her head.

It wasn't long before a tall middle aged woman with long flowing dirty blonde haired stepped into the tent.

"Room Attention!" Shouted Colonel Tillian as the commander was recognized. Instantly all activity stopped as the Colonials came to attention for the commander

"Carry on!" She said as she walked towards SG-1.

O'Neill was surprised by how young she looked. But she had an Aura of command about her that commanded respect. She was impressive in the way she carried herself. O'Neill could tell she meant business and that this wasn't going to be an ordinary meeting.

"Commander allow me to introduce you to SG-1. Colonel Jack O'Neill. Major Samantha Carter, Doctor Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c of the now free Jaffa"

"Now free Jaffa? Interesting, I didn't know there were any rebel Jaffa. Certainly happy to hear that" She said as she extended a hand to Colonel O'Neill who respectfully shook it.

"Indeed Commander, our numbers have grown greatly over the last few years. Thanks in no small part to the Tauri." Teal'c Replied as he bowed and shook her hand.

"Well that's certainly the first time I've had someone bow before me not in a temple Teal'c. Thank you. Please all of you come and take a seat."

The group all went towards a long plastic set of tables that had been set up. A pitcher of water and several plastic cups were arrayed around the table.

"I'm going to be straight forward with you Colonel and I hope you forgive me for my bluntness. But we're neck deep in a pile of shit right now and formalities are a pleasantry I frankly don't have time for." She said as Colonel O'Neill leaned back and cocked his head. "And neither does Earth" She said causing all of SG-1 to feel a sense of dread.

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Asked Doctor Jackson with concern.

"The Hatak we defeated in orbit was of an outdated and frankly weak design compared to the ships of line Anubis now uses. It was recovered from the sight of the last major battle where Anubis was defeated. He's been raiding the sights of his former defeats for materials. Rebuilding ships where he can. Reclaiming territory to further his agenda. Prisoner interrogation from Major Lorraine and my own Captain Korrey have confirmed that Anubis is planning a major offensive" She said to the assembled group

"What kind of Major offensive?" Asked O'Neill already slightly suspecting where this conversation was headed.

"Against you. But mainly the other System lords." She said letting the hammer drop

"Well hate to put a damper on his plans but he's oh for two so far." Said O'Neill with a grin.

Allanna looked at him confused before Major Carter spoke up.

"What Colonel O'Neill means is that Anubis has tried before and failed."

"Yes, the Naquadah enhanced asteroid and the Stargate weapon he employed a year ago. We know. This time his approach will be far less subtle. He's assembling a fleet. We don't have any information on fleet numbers" She replied stunning the members of SG-1

"How exactly have you obtained this information?" Asked Teal'c

"We were able to translate the Goa'uld database aboard the Hatak we defeated as well as from Prisoner interrogation" She replied hesitantly.

"Any timetable on this attack?" Asked Colonel O'Neill with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Unknown for sure but within the next three to four months. Listen Colonel, we could have our diplomatic and political leaders do the whole song and dance about coming together against a common foe and becoming allies. But I think we both know that it's in the best interests of both of us." She said earning a smile back from O'Neill.

"Yes, yes we do know that. I was actually going to say the same thing" He replied barely holding back a smudge.

"We have the locations of enemy shipyards and strategic positions valuable to Anubis war effort. But what we don't have is the information on everyone else. Not to mention our ships are vastly inferior to his upgraded ships of the line." She said trying to underline just how much they needed each other.

"We may be able to help with that." Said Colonel O'Neill with a grin.

"Uh jack don't you think we should tread carefully here" Said Daniel worriedly.

"No Daniel. We're talking about Allies here who are in a position to launch a devastating attack on the Goa'uld and stop an attack on Earth. All were doing is helping out our new allies." Replied O'Neill with a smile towards the commander.

"Within reason Colonel. We aren't just going to give you an all access pass. We may be going up against a common enemy but we still don't know who you really are. Trust takes time" She said to placate Daniel that the Colonials weren't just going to go out and start rampaging throughout the Galaxy.

"I completely agree ma'am. I'm sure in time we'll develop a very close working relationship." O'Neill replied.

"Excellent. I don't expect us to start launching attacks anytime soon. First things first we need to secure Earth. Our homeworlds are pretty much secure by location mostly. I suggest we begin diplomatic negotiations as soon as possible. We can send some of our people back with you to Earth if that's acceptable. In addition I can assumed your political leaders will want to formally negotiate an alliance. May I suggest we do that on Caprica?" Said Allanna hoping to streamline the process.

"Where exactly is Caprica?" Asked Jackson.

"Six jumps from here. It's the Capital of the Twelve Colonies" She answered.

"Im sorry jumps?" Asked Carter with a look of confusion

"Ah yes sorry. We use a different form of travel than you may be used to. Over long distances it puts us at a great disadvantage due to our limited computer processing power. But over short distances it gives us an incredible advantage over the enemy" She explained making Carter more curious.

"Really, I'd love to see that" Carter replied with a smile. "With your permission sir. I'd like to be on the team to go to Caprica."

"How could I say no to that Carter? Sounds like its right up your alley" He replied.

"My ship along with another battlestar and two of our cruisers that were heavily damaged in the battle will be departing in twelve hours. Can your diplomatic team be assembled by then or do you need more time?" She asked as she stood up and everyone else did the same.

"No that's plenty of time. Of course we would like to send our own security element with them as well. Our ambassador will formally negotiate an alliance on behalf of our president" Replied Colonel O'Neill receiving a nod from the commander.

"Excellent. Captain Korrey, Major Lorraine along with a squad of Marines and our civilian contact team of twenty personnel will be our designated liaison with you." She replied before turning to Colonel Tillian. "Make sure the Marines that go are Razors" She said.

"Naturally the spooks" O'Neill remarked to Carter on the side. She chuckled.

"Who do you think they'll send to negotiate with the Colonials?" He asked her.

"Probably Daniel, other important people. Not really my department sir"

"Well lets go let the boss now that we're gonna have some guests for dinner." Said O'Neill. "Oh I hope they serve cake" He said as he walked towards the stargate.

"Daniel Dial the gate"

SGC CONTROL ROOM

"Unscheduled off-world activation" Announced the PA as General George Hammond came down the stairs with Colonel Richard Ehlers behind him. Ehlers was the Commander of the Fourth Ranger Battalion and a veteran of Desert Storm. He'd been in charge of the Regimental Reconnaissance Company when they made their combat jump into Afghanistan in 2001. A veteran of numerous campaigns he had seen his fair share of war.

"Walter" Said Hammond as he approached. In the gate room airmen took defensive positions around the gate.

"Receiving SG-1's IDC sir" He replied as he registered the code on his monitor

"Let's hear it" He said as he stood up straighter.

"Sierra Gulf Charlie This is Sierra Gulf One. Be advised. We have made contact and report mission success. Colonial units willing to send delegation to begin immediate initial treaty negotiations. They're also requesting we send a delegation and an ambassador with them to their homeworld as well over"

"Acknowledged SG-1. We'll contact State and have them send an Ambassador. Any indications of deceit or hostile intent over?"

"Negative sir. The Colonials realize they're the new kids on the block and that they need friends and not enemies at the moment."

"Good to know SG-1. Send Back Major Carter and Doctor Jackson for a de-brief"

"Uh about that sir. The diplomatic team is going to go to their homeworld which is six what they call jumps away. So they'll be out of contact for an extended period of time. And they need them in twelve hours" Said Jack with a wince knowing how hard it would be for a diplomatic team to be assembled in under twelve hours.

"Understood." Replied Hammond with a deeper voice. "Hammond out" Moments later Jackson stepped through the gate. It shut down moments later as he walked down the ramp.

"Get Colonel Bane and Riles down here. Get them de-briefed. I'll call the SecDef" Hammond said to Chief Harriman.

BATTLESTAR ACROPOLIS

Lieutenant Amelia Balist sat at the bed of her friend and fellow pilot Lieutenant Jack Mako. His viper had been grazed by an errant staff blast from a death glider. The graze had left his viper too damaged to land but he had tried anyway. The resulting crash had nearly killed him, he was barely holding on to life as it was.

This was the first time she had come down to see him in the four days since the battle. She would have come sooner but she had pulled a CAP and done maintenance on her Raptor and helped firefly with her viper. His face was bandaged and the doctor had told her he wasn't likely to make it.

"Im so sorry buddy" She said as she ran her fingers through his hair. "I'm going to see your mom when we get back okay." She pasued choking on her words. Knowing he probably couldn't hear her but she felt like she needed to say them anyway. "Ill tell her you fought hard. That you died with the glory of the gods. I promise buddy. I promise"

Colonel Jason Devos stood across the room and sighed as he heard the monitor flat line. Lt Balist broke down in tears as another member of the Acropolis crewed passed away. He silently lowered his head and said a small prayer before walking away. A nurse saluted him as he walked out the hatch. One hundred and ten, that was the number he was going to have life with for the rest of his life. He had been too young to fight in the Cylon war. Losing men and women under his command stung bad, and he knew sleep would be his enemy for the rest of his life.

HELIOS

Forty Raptors of the Battlestar Helios and the Battlestar Valkyrie flew in near perfect formation as they prepared to jump to the nearby shipyard belonging to Anubis. Their orders were clear: Recon Only, Do Not Engage the enemy.

"All Raptors this is CAG. Spin up FTL Drives and prepare to jump on my mark. Mark" Said Major Allen Nagala. The son of the Fifth Fleet Admiral and on the fast track to Colonel.

Forty bright flashes of Light illuminated the backdrop of space as the Raptors jumped. All Forty Raptors appeared within the span of thirty seconds. Spread throughout the planet and surrounding space the Colonials pilots immediately powered down all active sensors and went passive. The Shipyard was relatively unguarded except for a few random fighter patrols and evidently a shield given the power readings. Their mission clock was twelve hours.

"Okay let's see what all we got out here." He said as his raptor floated twelve thousand meters over the shipyard. He counted six unfinished Hataks in the Pylons and another one planet side. Landed undoubtedly on the pyramid below. All easy targets for a Strike group of five Battlestars and their escorts. A battlestar usually traveled with an escort of six cruisers, four destroyers and twelve corvettes. He knew as he surveyed the force below him that they could easily wipe out the enemy.

But rushing headstrong into an engagement was fool hardy. He knew the Admiral would have to consider the Tactical and Strategic advantages and consequences of any attack. He monitored his sensors closely for any approaching craft. Weary of being detected by the more advanced systems of the Goa'uld. It was his and the Admirals hope that powered down they would just appear as random pieces of space debris.

KOBOL

A Colonial Marine Corps squad entered every single chamber or tomb discovered before any scientists or civilian personnel. To ensure no radioactive materials were present, and to determine if anything needed to be classified.

"Night Optics on gentleman." Said Staff Sergeant Darren Klites as he lead his squad into the chamber. A different type of architecture greeted them then what they had seen previously. It was elegant, angled and marked with varying colors. The designed seemed to be welcoming but indicative of an advanced civilization.

"Send it up on the net that we have a one-alpha. No civilians not on approved access rosters." He said as they rounded the corner to see a raised chair on a platform in the center of the room. He was intrigued by its design. It was almost sticky as he touched the hand rest.

He jerked back instantly and fell to a knee raising his weapon as the lights turned on and the floor lit up. The lights illuminated all around them without warning. Instantly every Marines weapon was raised and pointed outward in a defensive posture.

"Golf one, Golf one, this is Renegade two-two possible contact. Request QRF, repeat possible contact. Situation developing"

"Renegade two-two this is Golf one. Copy possible contact. QRF en-route what's your situation over?"

The Marines continued to scan the halls and nearby passageways of the chamber while listening to the sounds of the radios.

"Marines fan out in fireteams. Find out who turned on the lights." He ordered as he looked at his RTO.

"Catina radio silent unless we get into contact."

"Roger Staff Sergeant" The Marine replied before speaking into the radio again "This is is Renegade Two-two requesting radio silence. Situation developing and still unknown. Two-two out"

The Marines continued to move down the hallways with each door opening for them before they reached it. It unnerved them and made them even more cautious.

"Door right" Said Kiltes as the two riflemen in front of him stacked on the door. His Grenadier fell in behind him as they entered. It was a flawless entry into a large room. He knew what it was instantly. The large retractable roof just confirmed it. Arrayed around the room in alcoves were six green craft. Cob webs covered the outside of them. But he had pulled guard on the one they had recovered from orbit and he knew what it was. Some kind of orbital Shuttles.

"This better get me frakking promoted" He said as his fireteam fanned out to secure the door across the room. It opened to reveal a storage rack of yellow squid like objects.

"What the hell are these things?" Said one his junior marines. A Private from Aerilon.

"Leave it Marine. Leave that to the egg heads." He said as his other teams began radioing in saying they had found nothing but empty rooms.

"Copy that" He said as two more squads entered the facility. It was no longer a tomb.

EARTH

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE

Secretary of State Elizabeth McVey was shocked by the report sent to her by General Hammond. A new potential ally who was desperate for strategic information to use against the Goa'uld. Something they had but the Colonials didn't. She could use that to her advantage but she had to send someone she trusted unequivocally. The problem with the stargate program was it was so secret that sending a high profile ambassador would raise too many questions. Not that many Earth-side ambassadors were briefed in on the stargate Program to begin with. Instead after assuming the office, which had been six years ago, she had started a new top secret diplomatic Corps of up and coming and former retired ambassadors. They're mission was to represent the United States and her allies in all off-world proceedings spearheaded by the SGC. They had cultivated some of the many alliances and led several high profile negotiations involving the rebel Jaffa, the Tokra, Hebridians, and many other worlds. Not all of their diplomatic efforts had been successful and unfortunately many of their lessons learned had been learned at the cost of American blood.

"Get me Ambassador Bates please" She said to her aide. He was a young and enthusiastic former congressman from Minnesota who was quickly becoming a star pupil of hers. At Forty years old she knew he was going to be representing Earth for a quite a long time. She didn't have to wait long. It was the middle of the night so she knew he would be at home.

"He's on line one Ma'am." Her aide replied as she picked up the phone after just three minutes.

"Ambassador Bates how are you?" She said as he greeted her.

"I'm well Madam Secretary. How are you?" He said probably wondering why she was calling at two in the morning.

"I'm going to make this short cause we don't have much time, I need you on a plane and heading to the SGC to conduct high priority negotiations immediately. We have a new player on the Galactic Stage. Hostile to the Goa'uld and a potential ally to us. SG Teams have already made contact and from what they can see they're not hostile to us"

"I understand Ma'am. I take it my objective is to negotiate an alliance and defense treaty"

"Yes. Although the Pentagon would prefer if you negotiate a Full fledge Military alliance. Joint commands, missions, Intelligence sharing the whole nine yards" She replied to which she heard him whistle.

"That's new. They must pack a big punch" He responded.

"They took out a Hatak that threatened unarmed civilians. So yes they can pull their weight" She said as her aide walked in again

"I'll head to Andrews right away ma'am"

"Thank you David" She said as she hung up the phone.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs had called her directly after General Hammond had requesting the Ambassador. He had stressed how much they needed the Colonials support. She was truly fearful of how unprepared for an attack they were. The 2004 presidential election would be coming to a close soon. Truthfully she didn't want Henry Hayes to win. In part because of his running mate, Senator Kinsey. She didn't trust him and neither did the sitting president. But all indications were that he was going to win.

ALPHA SITE

The mortar detachment of the 4/75th Rangers continued their nearly ten minute bombardment of the target area as they refined their fire control methods. For the assembled Jaffa and Tok'ra at the base it was an impressive site. The 120mm Air burst munitions were delightful to the Jaffa as they watched the many wooden buildings and green plastic silhouettes be destroyed.

"Truly the Tauri are a formidable opponent. If we were ever forced to face them in a mass engagement I highly doubt the outcome would be to our liking" Said Perseus. Member of the Tokra High council.

"I agree. But they are reckless and a danger to not just themselves but us and our plan to eliminate the Goa'uld" Responded Anise from beside him.

"Selmac would disagree." He responded

"His judgement is clouded of late" Said Anise as she continued to watch the Tauri Humvee's approach the simulated Jaffa battle line. Against an Armored and highly mobile opponent she knew the Jaffa would not be able to defend their position. Much less win the battle. The Tauri weapons reached farther and were far more accurate. They needed to be more watchful of what the Tauri were becoming

SGC

The Colonial Delegation arrived through the Stargate with looks of shock and awe on their faces.

Major Kelsey Lorraine stared as she came through the stargate. Surrounding her were Colonial Marines and a team of Civilian Diplomats and a presidential envoy and his aides. She was still amazed by the technology of the stargate and wondered if she would ever truly understand how it worked.

"That was amazing." Said Captain Stacey Korrey as she stepped through the gate. Behind her SG-5 Team member Lieutenant Jason Cartwright smiled at her.

"What?" She asked with a half smile of her own.

"It never gets old seeing someone's face for the first time when they go through the gate." He said to her. She shook her head as she laughed. Training took over however as she noticed the defensive teams around the gate and the two Fifty Caliber machine guns flanking her. The gate room she was surprised to see was relatively small but still impressive. Looking up she could see the roof was retractable, obviously how they got the gate in here, she thought to herself. The blast door to the side of the gate room opened drawing her attention to it. She noticed a bald man walk in in what she assumed was a dress uniform.

"Ladies and Gentleman welcome to Earth. I'm Major General Hammond." Instantly all the colonials in the room snapped to Attention and rendered a perfect salute. Commander Staiuto had ordered them to render all appropriate respects to their Tauri counterparts.

General Hammond was caught off guard by the formality but quickly recovered and returned the salute. It was a powerful signal the Colonials had just sent to both him and the ambassador.

"General, Im Major Lorraine. This is our Presidential Envoy Mr. Galen Shast."

"A pleasure to meet you all. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to Earth. The officers behind me will escort you to your quarters during your stay here. For security purposes we ask you not to leave the base or go anywhere unescorted"

"May I ask why General?" Asked Mr. Shast as he stepped closer to the General.

"Because we would do the same if the positions were reversed Mr. Galen. It's completely understandable. I'm sure Colonel O'Neill informed his superior that Captain Korrey and I were Intelligence Operatives" Said Major Lorraine from behind him with a small smile on her face. To which General Hammond nodded with a slight smile.

"I see. I guess we can't argue with that" He replied. "Please lead the way" He said to the officers as they pointed them down the hall and of the gateroom.

Overhead Colonel Bane watched the exchange and smiled. The Colonials were disciplined she had to give them that. "They seem to be friendly" Said Colonel Reynolds from beside her as she shrugged.

"Appearances are not always what they seem" She replied. But the Colonials saluting General Hammond had indeed impressed her.

"So you're going to start talking like Doctor Jackson now" He said to which she huffed.

"No" She said "I won't go that far" She said. Doctor Jackson if he knew of half the operations she had running would call her a human devil. She had thirteen teams of delta operatives currently on long duration missions with the orders to infiltrate Goa'uld installations and assassinate the command elements. So far they had succeeded in fifteen previous operations to great success.

ACROPOLIS

Commander Staiuto watched with a smile as Major Carter gazed at the backdrop of space as they exited the atmosphere. The delegation she had sent to earth had one mission. Make friends and gather intelligence on how prepared earth was for an attack. The Presidential envoy was not a diplomatic ambassador and thus did not have the authority to agree to any treaty or trade agreement. However he was authorized to put forth the notions and formally agree to full-fledged negotiations at a later date. Major Lorraine and Captain Korrey were ordered to make early preparations for Joint intelligence missions and military operations planning.

"You know if I didn't know better I'd say we would have built something like this in the near future"

That comment made her curious. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well before we discovered the Stargate. All we had was a few orbital shuttles. Not really capable of much really." Major carter replied back forgetful of not revealing Earth's military capabilities.

That surprised her and she decided to give the Major a small nugget of information. "These Raptors have been in service for over fifty years Major. With obvious upgrades and improvements of course" She smiled at her "Just wait until you see one of our Vipers"

"There's a lot I want to see" Carter replied. The lengthy history of the Raptors surprised her. They were a versatile craft. Well-built and to her they looked easy enough to fly.

"Major I just want to be clear with you. From everything we know so far. Earth and a group called the Tok'ra are the only major groups opposing the Goa'uld. We can't afford any more enemies. Not right now. We need Allies to fight with us and we'll do everything to get them" She said to Carter sitting across from her.

"I understand Commander. We're essentially in the same boat so to say" Carter replied from across from her.

"Major, why don't you take a look at the ship we call home. Best ship in the fleet!" Said Lieutenant Balist from the Pilots seat as the Acropolis came into view. Her ECO snapped a picture as the Major gaped at the behemoth before her. Allanna discreetly felt a searing pride at her Pilots remarks. 'Best ship in the fleet, I could get used to that' She was proud of Lieutenant Balist and planned to put her in for a commendation for her actions over Stavanna during the initial confrontation.

Carter was amazed at the sight before her. Despite the obvious battle damage the Acropolis was the very definition of a warship. Functionally efficient and visually intimidating at the same time. She could clearly see the massive gun batteries lining the flight pods and bow of the behemoth warship. She took note of the several squadrons of vipers on patrol near the ship. Almost like hornets, ready to pounce on anything that threatened their ship. The ship was built to fight and Carter could see the massive armor plating covering the ship. Obviously intended to absorb a decent amount of punishment.

"Land in five minutes Ma'am" Amelia said as she brought the raptor in for a landing approach.

"Thank you lieutenant" She said as she took in the gash on the side of her ship. A look of sadness crossed her face as she remembered how many she had lost.

The landing was smooth and uneventful as the raptor was brought down to the hanger deck.

As the air lock was cycled and the hanger deck doors opened the raptor was eased forward by the deck crew. Major Carter continued to be amazed by the magnitude of the ship she was now on. In moments the raptor was at its designated zone and cabin door was opened. A Marine detail waited for her to render honors.

"Welcome to the Acropolis Major"

HELIOS

Commander William Adama strode purposely through the halls of the Flagship. He was proud and honored to have been a part of this mission. Literally propelling the Colonies into the next age of discovery. It saddened him it would be at the cost of war. He had seen much in his days as an officer in the fleet. Since the last years of the Cylon war to now. He was proud of all that he had been a part of. He had worn the uniform with pride for over three and a half decades of service.

He had seen the enemy prisoners, watched their interrogations and had one on his ship under his direction. He had learned a great deal over the last five days. He was due to meet with Admiral Brantley in the next fifteen minutes to discuss their next moves. He and the Admiral went all the way back to the first Cylon war aboard the Galactica serving together during the last year of the war.

As he rounded the corner and saluted the two Marine guards at the door he entered the Admirals quarters. The Admiral was sitting at his desk with a pile of paperwork in front of him. His old friend looked exhausted and he felt for him. But when he saw him he seemed to relax a little.

"Bill, how are you?" Said the old balding Admiral as he got up from his chair.

"Good sir" He replied shaking his hand.

"Damn it Husker when were alone call me snake" He said as they both took a seat. They did indeed go back a long way. Their families knew each other.

"I'm going to cut to the chase Bill. We're in a tight spot. Instead of Kobol to defend we now have Stavanna and all the people down there. Plus it's the only stargate we have. Unfortunately, its six jumps back to the Colonies from here. The Acropolis, Orion and the two cruisers which suffered heavy damage will be returning in a few hours with the Earth Diplomatic team."

"Will the Cruisers be able to make it back to the Colonies?" He asked with concern

"Barely which is why we've put em down to a Skelton crew with orders to abandon ship should anything go wrong. Commander Staiuto will be in overall command" The Admiral replied. Silently he was hoping that the cruisers would make it back in one piece. But he knew it would be a miracle if they did. They had just taken too much damage.

"Hate to lose a Mercury from the line right now. Might need the firepower." He knew Anubis would probably send a scouting party to Stavanna sooner or later.

"That brings me to my next point. Earth" Brantley said looking at him. "They don't have any defensive force capable of stopping an attack"

"They're defenseless?" He asked with worry.

"In essence yes. They negotiated their way into a protected planets treaty enforced by a race called the Asgard but their MIA at the moment which leaves earth Vulnerable. I cannot allow that."

"Now Commander Staiuto says Earth may have the technological knowledge to upgrade our ships to be able to go toe-to-toe with an upgraded Goa'uld Hatak. But we can't send a ship of the line right now. It would leave us too vulnerable out here." It registered in his mind almost instantly.

"You want the Valkyrie to go" He stated rather than asked.

"There's nobody I trust more than you Husker. Your cruisers and destroyers will go with you along with the Hephaestus. Embarked Marines and all" Said the Admiral as Adama nodded.

"If earth gets invaded, they'll need those Marines" He replied to him as Adama realized he could be Earth's only line of defense.

"Yes they will." He stated before standing up. "Once the Acropolis reaches Caprica I don't expect it to take long before we have a whole fleet group here. Both to secure the other two habitable worlds we found and to establish a better protective perimeter. Adama this is going to blow the Colonies open. The people wont stand for so many innocents being enslaved"

"The Goa'uld wont just leave us be. Not now. We're a threat to them. A threat to the balance of power." Stated Adama joining his friend at the table looking down at the reconnaissance photos of the Anubis shipyard.

"If they learn of the location of the Colonies. It'll mean the death of billions" Said Brantley as he looked at the photos.

"The location of the Colonies is now to be protected at all cost. Under no circumstances do we allow the Goa'uld to learn about who we are until we're ready"

"I won't let you down Snake" He said with determination

"I know you won't. May the gods protect you. "

EARTH

Presidential envoy Galen Shast knew he was in a heavily guarded military facility. Evident by the many armed guards and random personnel he had seen carrying weapons around the VIP quarters itself. In an hour he would meet the earth Secretary of State herself and he looked forward to it. What surprised him was the complete lack of ceremonial décor he had seen. There was none of it here. Even in the Presidential Mansion the Executive office had decorations of the gods. He was curious to see if the Tauri still followed the gods or had they completely forgotten their pasts.

General George Hammond oversaw the embarkation of SG-9 as they went through the gate to a new unexplored world. Hoping to find a clue to the lost city. He was under intense pressure from the Joint Chiefs to gain new weapons technology to defend the planet with. But so far he was coming up short.

"Let me know when Secretary McVey gets here." He said as he turned to walk upstairs to the briefing room where an eight man team of Delta Operators were waiting for him. He liked Delta, quick to follow orders and nearly guaranteed to get results. The Army and most importantly Special Operations command had learned long ago not to micro-manage the men of Delta. Give them a mission. That's it. Don't tell them how to accomplish it or what to do it with. All they needed was a timetable if applicable and an end state objective. They were intuitive and adaptive by nature. He trusted every single one of the men in Delta to accomplish whatever mission he gave them.

"Attention!" Shouted MSG Gary Wells as he came up the stairs. He knew the General hated the formality but he did it out of respect.

"At ease Gentleman. Please be seated" He said as he walked around to the head of the table.

"I hear we have some visitors General." Commented Major Thomas Danbeck. Leader of Alpha team and overall Commander for A Troop.

"They call themselves the Colonials. A new group that were hoping to ally with. They've given us some Intel as an act of good faith and I need you boys to confirm it." He said as he turned on the projector.

"The Colonials disabled and boarded a Hatak over a world we know as P7R-569. The locals and Colonials call it Stavanna. The Colonials have unofficially declared it a protectorate of theirs. When they boarded the Hatak the Colonials managed to access the ships computer systems and with the help of the human slaves on board as well as their own experts, create a working translation program. They learned a lot in a very short amount of time"

"About an imminent attack on earth?" Said Sergeant First Class Roberts reading from the report.

"Yes. Due in the next three to four months depending on when Anubis can assemble his fleet. Now SG Teams are searching high and low for the lost city of the Ancients. Doctor Jackson believes that were close. But we need to confirm this intel ourselves. This gate address is supposedly a staging ground for Anubis. Now your mission is to verify that and gather an accurate assessment of the forces present. Do not engage the enemy. Any questions." General Hammond ordered the Delta operatives. He knew there would be no questions. There almost never was from these men.

"Get to it then" He said as he stood up.

ACROPOLIS 7 DAYS AFTER THE BATTLE

The Tauri Diplomatic team had come aboard only twenty minutes ago. "Flight deck is secure" Reported her XO from across from the table.

"Thank you XO. Begin Jump prep. I want status reports Immediately from Theseus and Odysseus after every jump. Have Evac raptors on standby as well" She ordered worried about the cruisers and their damaged structural integrity. But she was also worried about the reaction back home. The Orion was a heavily modified Valkyrie class stealth battlestar and it currently had one of the Lantean shuttles onboard recovered from Kobol as well as the bodies of its crew. A few dozen high ranking Jaffa prisoners were also aboard in addition to the Goa'uld Sarkesh. The Orion's existence was classified and as a result she would be jumping to an outlying base near Virgon when they reentered Colonial space.

The Tauri Diplomatic team consisted of Major Carter as the scientific advisor, ten Diplomatic security service agents and four US military Liaisons from the Air Force and Navy as well the Ambassador himself and his four aides. Currently they were situated at a large conference room waiting for a Colonial Liaison to enter.

"So Major Carter, Impressed?" Asked Jeffery Bates from across the table

"Impressed isn't the word Sir" She replied with a smile.

"The industrial requirements to build a ship of this size would take the US a decade to build" Stated Brigadier General Joseph Hartfield from beside him. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs had tasked him directly to lead discussions on joint military cooperation against the Goa'uld.

"Well I don't know about that. But it definitely is an impressive feat" Said Carter gazing around the room at the many plagues adorning the walls. One caught her eye as she stood up.

The painting was a depiction of the great battle of Caprica. She could clearly see what she guessed were early model Battlestars engaged with an unknown enemy. She counted as many as ten in the painting with an equal number of hostiles. She saw the formation of vipers in the background flying against their enemy. A battle of this scale was unimaginable to her. Yet here it was, depicted as one of the greatest victories for the Colonials.

"Ah the battle of Caprica during the Cylon war. One of our greatest Heroes, Admiral Stryker lead us to victory that day. Defeated the main Cylon invasion force for Caprica without losing a single ship."

"I'm sorry what's a Cylon?" She asked the Colonial Marine who had spoken to her.

"Perhaps that discussion should be left to more qualified personnel ma'am" He replied with a polite smile.

"Of course" She replied curtly becoming suspicious of this new enemy.

"Attention all personnel, FTL in one minute" Stated the PA as the Tauri delegation took their seats.

"You may experience some nausea and slight discomfort from the jump but it will pass quickly" Stated the lieutenant at the door as he entered.

"How exactly does your FTL work?" Asked Carter dying to know.

"It works vastly different from what the Goa'uld use. They enter a level of sub-space known as hyperspace. We don't. We use a vastly different drive system. I'm sure our chief engineer would be happy to go into more details with you at a later date" He said as he took his seat.

"Lieutenant how long will it take us to reach the Colonies?" Asked Ambassador Bates from his seat at the head of the table.

"Only three hours sir" He replied "Barring any delays from our cruisers that were damaged"

"How are those cruisers doing?" Bates asked him.

"I'm Afraid I'm not at liberty to discuss that sir" He simply stated.

"I understand" replied the American Ambassador. During his early years at the State Dept. he had been weary of the military and their constant view of everything as a threat. But after seeing everything they dealt with he understood the reasoning and actually developed a healthy level of respect for it. It seemed the Colonials would be the same way.

Suddenly the ambassador straightened in his chair as the jump began. He felt himself being pulled backwards and stretched only to feel completely normal not a second later. He instantly felt dizzy and nauseous.

"Wow you weren't kidding that is an experience" Stated General Hartfield

"You learn to get used to it" Said the lieutenant with a chuckle.

BATTLESTAR VALKYRIE

Commander William Adama stood in the CIC as his XO Colonel Saul Tigh oversaw preparations for their first jump towards Earth.

"Board is green Commander. Ship reports ready to jump. All escorts report ready in all respects as well"

"All ordnance transferred and supplies topped off as well?" He asked as he prepared to give the go ahead.

"Yes sir. All ships fully loaded. We have a container ship with us with three extra squadrons of vipers in storage. The pilots are on the Marine StrikeStar and will stay current on their birds" Tigh replied

"Very well. It's One hundred and ninety two jumps to Earth. It'll take us three weeks to get there. Start the clock." He ordered as Tigh nodded.

KOBOL

They had been on Kobol for six days now. Archibald could not believe the things they had discovered. He was even more amazed at the vast technological superiority of the ancient Kobolians to where they were now. Admiral Brantley had come to the new facility designated as an Outpost one. He hated the name they had given it. Something so beautiful deserved to be named to be reflect its purpose and beauty. All around him members of the expedition on the approved access roster and military technicians were setting up workstations, documenting the rooms. Collecting soil and fragment samples.

"Oh my gods" Said a young member of his archaeology team.

"What Antietam? What have you found?" He said as walked over. The man was holding a book in his hands and was reading from it.

"This book, it tells the history of the Ancient Kobolians. The people who built this place. " He said as he sat down. Archibald sat down beside him and began to read as well.

"It says the Ancients were the builder of roads, Teachers of the stars, Guardians of Justice and Freedom that walked among the stars through the Astria Porta. I'm not sure what that part means. But it says their history spans millions of years. That they settled on many worlds. They came here after fleeing a terrible enemy in the hopes of rebuilding their civilization. My gods do you know what this means?"

"It means everything we know about our history is wrong. The scrolls, they were wrong."

"No. Not wrong my young pupil. Simply misinterpreted. Interpretation changes throughout history. Much like linguistic drift. How words change over time. It is entirely possible that the scrolls tell us the gods were not god's at all but merely mortal beings of incredible power and knowledge. Much like someone who had never seen a spacecraft before might interpret those who control them as gods. Our gods as we see them may have simply wished to teach and guide us along the right path. We simply forgot what they taught us. We let them become legends and mythical figures. But in reality they were as mortal as we are today. The Ancients. That's what they were called."

"But the passage says walked among the stars. Surely that must mean they are gods" The young man replied

"It's a figure of speech. Astria means star in ancient Kobolian." Then it hit him. Stargate. The ancients built the stargate!

"Stargate! My gods the ancients built the stargates" He said as the young man realized what he was talking about.

"You're telling me these Ancients were our gods?" Said Antietam beside him sounding skeptical. "But what about the voice we all heard?" He asked.

"I think our Tauri brothers may be able to help us there" He replied as he took the book with him as he walked out. The Tauri seemed to know much about the Galaxy and he wanted to know what they knew.

ANUBIS FLAGSHIP

Anubis was irate at the loss of a Hatak. Especially now during his preparation to attack Baal and Earth. He had declared the area off limits to his Jaffa in the hopes that the new enemy would be content with the world they had captured. It made no difference to his overall plans. He was more concerned with the Tauri and their attempts at finding the lost city. The power of the Ancients was the only thing that could stop him.

If the Tauri succeeded in locating it. It would not take them long to unlock its power. His defeat would be inevitable then. He could not allow it. But the System lords were redoubling their efforts to oppose him and he could not launch his attack yet.

ACROPOLIS

8 DAYS AFTER THE BATTLE. ONE JUMP FROM CAPRICA

Commander Staiuto stood at the plotting table of the CIC across from her XO preparing for the last jump to Caprica. Major Carter had been invited to examine the alien craft in her Hanger bay. She had confirmed the craft was unlike anything she had come across before. But she had succeeded in restoring power to the craft. Activating many of its once dormant systems including an advanced sensor system that made their version of Dradis look pitiful in comparison. What shocked her the most was its apparent capacity to cloak. Discovered randomly by a Colonial Pilot attempting to identify the flight controls and label them. Lieutenant Jessica Brookes had been studying the alien craft extensively trying to get it to work. With the help of Major Carter and a pair of Scientist onboard as part of the expedition they finally had. The Ambassador and her had spent a great deal of the last six hours speaking about the Goa'uld and Earth's encounter with them.

"Commander. ETA to jump is one minute. All ships report ready for Jump. Both cruisers report their ships are maintaining structural integrity."

"Good. General Hartfield. I can't tell you how Colonial Fleet Command is going to react to this. So it would be best if you prepared yourself" She said to her American counterpart standing beside her.

"I understand Ma'am and thank you."

"Commander the Orion has jumped to Virgon to report back to CID"

CAPRICA

It had been a quiet day for the Admiral in charge of the Colonial Fleet Station over Caprica. The Second strike group had just deployed to begin training exercises near the Trevor moon. The third strike group was currently in a reset phase after completing a scheduled deployment to the armistice line patrol zone. He had spent the day doing paperwork and updating personnel manning requests and supply issues. His TV was on across the room and he looked up as the reporter began to speak about the Kobol Expedition.

"Eight Days ago the Colonial Expeditionary Fleet set out to discover our ancient home world and unlock the secrets of our past. Leading the expedition was Doctor Archibald Harryet the man who discovered the location of Kobol in a tomb on Virgon. The fleet is scheduled to send several ships back tomorrow morning with the initial findings and reports and excitement is building in the streets. Celebrations are underway in the temple cities of Virgon and Picon along with Sagittarion and Gemenon. Here on Caprica people are anxious to hear of the discoveries." He was distracted by three flashes outside of his office window and turned to see a Mercury Class battlestar and two Theo class cruisers. His mouth fell open in shock as he took in the sight. The two cruisers were both heavily damaged. With one losing control and now in an uncontrolled spin and venting atmosphere.

"Action stations, action stations, set condtion one throughout the station. This is not a drill. Repeat Action Stations, Acton Stations, Set condition one." The Alarm klaxon sounded in conjunction with the alert from the PA.

He rose from his desk and sprinted out the door. Crewmen were rushing to their actions stations as his quiet day just became a nightmare. He knew a lot of things were happening as he ran to the CIC a level down from where he was at. The fleet would have instantly registered the Battlestar and cruisers as friendly. The Vipers would have reported the state of the ships and declared an emergency radioing for Search and Rescue assets for the cruisers now drifting out of control. Their reports would have set off several reactions both aboard the ships on orbital defense patrols and planet side. A planetary wide alert would be issued within minutes and ships would seal hatches and sever all dock connections in anticipation of a possible attack. As he walked into the CIC, he saw exactly that.

ACROPOLIS CIC

"Sir the Theseus has lost power. Her primary energizer just overloaded. Gun crews report the ships in an uncontrolled spin and venting atmosphere" Reported her Tactical Officer as they completed their jump. Allanna lowered her head and sighed.

"Commander the fleet is scrambling. Several squadrons of vipers now inbound. Two Battlestars headed for us as well" Said her XO looking at the dradis as the Colonial fleet now scrambled to establish a protective perimeter around their wounded brethren.

"Get me the nearest battlestar" She said as she picked up the headset. She knew the panic they're appearance would cause.

"It's Commander Bosta on the Battlestar Mercury." He said as she heard the line connect.

"Acropolis this is Mercury Actual, Sitrep" She heard a raspy old voice say.

"Mercury Actual this is Acropolis Actual. Be advised we have Enemy contact with unknown hostile force along Kobol Corridor. Mission Objective achieved. Be advised several developments deemed as Critic level for Admiralty's eyes only. Request immediate medical assistance for several hundred wounded" She reported as the Vipers established an air defense formation around her ship.

VIPER 2278

Lieutenant Kara "Starbuck" Thrace circled the helpless Theo Class cruiser Odysseus and stared. She wondered what kind of weapon could do that kind of damage to a Colonial Warship. She was amazed the ship had survived. She was only two years out of flight school and on her first assignment to the Mercury. "My gods what the hell happened out there?" Said one of her fellow squadron members only to be told to shut up by the CAG. She wasn't one to typically feel fear much less show it. But looking at the battle scared hull of the Acropolis and Odysseus she couldn't help but feel afraid.


	3. Chapter 3

CAPRICA

The Fleet Anchorage was isolated from the rest of normal space traffic. But not enough for the civilian population to not notice the mass scrambling of thousands of vipers and ships literally breaking their docking connections as they sought to establish a defensive formation in anticipation of a possible attack. The Colonial fleet over Caprica had gone into over drive. Entire viper squadrons were being assigned sectors and quadrants to patrol. Weapons were loaded and thumbs were sitting on the safeties waiting to flip them to fire. Entire ships were scrambling to get battle ready. It was something unseen to the civilian population below who had grown accustomed to their safety and peace.

BATTLESTAR HADES

"Action stations, Action Stations, Set condition one, repeat set condition one this is not a drill. All gun batteries report status to central fire control. Launch attack squadrons, repeat launch all attack squadrons this is not a drill"

Pilots were sprinting to the hanger deck still putting on their flight suits as they ran.

"CAG what's our sitrep?" Said Lt Emett Jones as he ran towards his viper.

"No idea, just form up with your squadron and listen to your squadron leader"

"Roger" He said as he climbed the ladder to his viper and the deck gang put his helmet on and secured his canopy. In seconds he was activating his systems and running preflight checks before he was even in the launch tube. Once the tube was clear and he was given the green light he would have thirty seconds to form up with his squadron.

As the blast door opened he could see the tube ahead of him cleared and his viper slowly began moving forward. 'Lets do this' He thought to himself as the catapult locked onto his viper.

CIC HADES

"Dradis any enemy contact?" Asked Colonel Deaten Cromwell as he watched the whole CIC

"Negative sir. SAR teams have reached our ships and report successful docking with both cruisers. They report massive structural damage and decompressions on both cruisers"

"Bring us about two oh five. Engines ahead full. Let's get us some room to maneuver" Said Commander Thomas Arkten

The Colossal hull of the Battlestar Hades spun around and fired her engines at max thrust. Her commander wanted full and open fields of fire for the ships weapons.

The Fleet Admiral in charge of Caprican Space and the defense of the planet had not yet established a direct line of communication with Commander Staiuto on the Acropolis as his first priority was securing the planet. The Fourth fleet had two strike groups at Caprica currently, both now fell under his command as the combatant commander. Both Strike group Admirals were on a secure conference call with him and were reporting all five hundred ships in their combined fleets would be deployed and combat ready within thirty minutes. It was chaos in the military community as they scrambled to establish a fully-fledged defensive battle line.

"What the hell happened out there?" He asked his chief of staff Commander Marcus Atticus.

"We don't yet know sir. The reports were getting are somewhat unreliable at the moment. Battlestar Mercury reports all three ships appear heavily damaged. Only Acropolis is structurally intact and even then she's taken more damage than any battlestar I've ever seen."

"It's the Cylon's it has to be." Stated Admiral Pyros, Overall Commander of the third strike group of the Fourth fleet.

"We are not going to rush to conclusions Admiral. I want SAR assets from all available ships to assist those vessels immediately. Once we have Caprican space secure. Ill speak with Acropolis Actual myself."

DELPHI

It had been nearly forty years since the Alarm Klaxon and air raid sirens had gone off in the city for real. The Colonial Government tested the mass civil alert system twice a year. And the tests were usually announced weeks in advance. This time the message was followed by a phrase that chilled terrified everyone who heard it.

"Attention! This is an emergency government notification. Seek shelter now. Possible Cylon attack under way. This is not a drill. Repeat this is not a drill. This is a national emergency all citizens are advised to seek shelter now." A wavering tone then sounded that sent people into a near state of panic. The crowded market place was now a stampede of people running inside to take shelter inside the buildings bomb shelter. It was Colonial law that every building had to have one. At minimum it was required to be able to hold the buildings legal occupancy amount and be designed to sustain them for a minimum of forty eight hours. For many high rise building it meant their basements were quiet large. Many were built several dozen feet below the surface with reinforced roofs and steel encased stairways designed to prevent them from collapsing. It had become standard Colonial practice after the Cylon war.

In the streets cars were rushing to the interstates to get home but soon found themselves in a traffic jam as the entire world panicked.

The news reports only caused more chaos.

"We don't have much information yet besides the General Alert that was issued by the Colonial Military. We can confirm that the Delphi Air base wing has scrambled and is now flying a defensive perimeter around the city. Large scale deployments of military forces have been reported all over the planet but no actual enemy has been sighted yet"

"We are still trying to contact our sources at the Ministry of Defense and learn what exactly is going on. But obviously if they're dealing with a Cylon attack. They wont have much time to talk with us so we don't expect to have much information in the early moments here."

"Again we need to remind our viewers that no actual enemy has been sighted yet. We continue to monitor the situation and will update you as we learn more."

"We are urging our viewers to stay calm and follow the instructions from government officials at this time, again please stay calm as this situation develops."

Erica Lynn was a university student at Delphi University, her class had been loudly interrupted by the campus PA system announcing a mandatory evacuation effective immediately. She was panicking as her entire class ran outside to get to the campus shelter. A loud piercing boom sounded directly over there heads as a squadron of vipers screeched overhead flying just bare meters over the tops of the buildings.

CYLON BASESHIP NEAR THE ARMISTICE LINE

Small remote probes were secretly deployed inside Colonial Space. Designed to report on Colonial fleet movements and monitor the Colonial space lanes for signs of a possible fleet deployment in preparation for an attack. The reports they were getting back from several near Caprica confused them

"What is happening?" Said four as he put his hand into the network.

"We don't know. The Kobol expedition seems to have sent a trio of ships back early." Responded a Three

"Remind me again why we didn't send a task force to shadow them again?" asked a one model

"Because we aren't interested in provoking a war with them. Its only been Thirty four years since the first war. We aren't prepared for another conflict yet" Responded a model Eight

"Not following that fleet is a mistake we should not have made" Said a number two near the One model that asked why

"It doesn't matter now. What happened to them" Asked a model six

"They were attacked and sustained heavy damage" Stated a number five.

"What? By who?" Asked a number six with confusion

"Unknown. But no pirate or terrorist group would have the capabilities to do that to a Mercury class Battlestar and two Cruisers" Said a number Three.

"You think people survived on Kobol and first contact with the Colonials didn't go so well." Said a number Four

"We can speculate for days. It doesn't matter in the end. We need information and we need it now. I propose we sent a task force to investigate at once" Said a Number one joining his fellow one at the table. One by one the other models nodded their agreement.

PICON FLEET HEADQUARTERS

Captain Paige Tellerson was the Communications OOD on the floor of Fleet Strategic Operations Center or FTOC. Her duties included monitoring all priority one communications and any urgent or flash messages and relaying them immediately to the on duty officer in charge of fleet ops, usually a vice admiral. Today it was Vice Admiral Jensen. A veteran of the Cylon war and multiple counter terror ops. She usually liked being on duty with him and had never once had a bad experience. He had even given her a four day pass to resolve some personal issues on Picon with her boyfriend the month prior, a law student at Picon Law center. He had reservations about her service in the military and was growing impatient with her fleet duties.

She however was at the start of the biggest forward momentum her career could have. She was serving directly under an admiral, actually five of them, and that got her noticed. She had had no comms traffic to relay for the last few hours as usual. She usually only relayed reports of ship malfunctions and accidents or requests for assistance from civil authoritys and today there had been none. The Colonial Binary systems were quiet. As such she was currently chatting with her boyfriend who had just helped his professor win a huge case on Picon.

"Im glad you guys won. You look really happy baby"

"Oh yeah babe, it was great. The look on her face when the judge read the verdict was priceless"

She was distracted by her thoughts as her comms center light up with flash messages and priority one alerts. Her mind snapped into overdrive completely forgetting her boyfriend was on a video call with her.

"Sir multiple flash priority one alerts from Caprica. No drill, repeat no drill. Fleet over Caprica reports they are under attack. Caprican defense units are moving to establish a battle line. Reports all over the place sir. I cant keep up with them. I have reports of one battlestar and two cruisers heavily damaged and multiple ships moving to engage the enemy."

"Send out a priority one alert to all colonial units, Message reads, Attention All Colonial Units, Cylon attack underway, all Colonial units respond immediately in accordance with local tactical situation. All units directed to report positions and tactical status to FTIC immediately. This is not a drill. Message ends"

As she relayed the message her blood ran cold, thinking the Cylon war had just gone hot again.

The fleet at Caprica had sent out automated tactical reports through the Joint Battlefield Tactical Data Network. A system of highly encrypted satellites and relays that sent dradis and tracking information directly to a receiving terminal. The system displayed only the local systems data and was capable of being shut down instantly if a hack or data breach was detected. Only three installations were capable of viewing data for the entire binary systems. Cyrannus Flight control center, FTIC and Fleet headquarters located on the surface of the planet.

BATTLESTAR ATLANTIA

Fleet Admiral Benton was hosting a delegation of political aides from the Quorum. They were enjoying a nice dinner in the ships VIP Galley.

"I sure do hope the fleet understands that Delegate Shaw underwent a lot of criticism for supporting the fleet in this round of budget proposals." Said a young woman who was Shaw's deputy chief of staff.

"I do" He replied "And…." He was interrupted when the Klaxon alarm went off and the PA announced "Action stations, action stations set condition one throughout the ship, this is not a drill, I repeat this is not a drill. Weapons grid to full power, pilots man your fighters, scramble, scramble, scramble, all personnel set condition one throughout the ship, this is not a drill"

Before the political aides could ask him what was going on he was already out the door. It would be four hours before the Colonial fleet had the situation under control and all forces had stood down to condition three. Throughout the system as a result of the flash warning message, units had launched their entire air wings, Marines and Army units had deployed anti-air defenses to the major citys and began mobilizing for counter-attacks and defensive missions. The Fleet had literally scrambled all combat ready vessels to respond. It was only after Admiral Benton talked to Commander Staiuto and then to the president did the order to stand down come down through the comms channel. It caused a massive panic in every single city.

EARTH

WASHINGTON D.C.

Secretary of State Elizabeth McVey was shocked at how well the diplomatic meeting with the Colonial Envoy had gone.

The Colonials had been incredibly understanding of Earth's position to acquire defense systems. In fact they had dropped a bombshell on them and informed them the Battlestar Valkyrie was headed for earth to establish a permanent defense patrol along with her assigned escorts. However the Colonials were hopeful that the Tauri, who had a much better understanding of Alien technology, would be able to assist them in upgrading their ships to be able to go toe to toe with a Goa'uld Hatak. Something the US Military had instantly agreed to. The Galaxy was literally against them and the last thing they needed was an enemy on Earth.

"You know we're going to have to have a massive manpower increase for all the ships we are going to buy" Stated one of her aides.

"Yeah but the military can handle that. Not our department." She replied back to him.

SGC

A colonial delegation had dialed in an hour ago. A doctor Archibald Harryet had asked to see the Tauri cultural expert. Which happened to be Doctor Daniel Jackson.

Archibald was anxious to share what he had learned. They and the Tauri were cousins after all, and they shared a destiny. The book his young assistant had found had revealed to him that the Ancients on Kobol were in fact the Gods of Kobol as worshipped by the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. He had learned that after returning from the Pegasus Galaxy a small group of just under two hundred Lanteans had taken several hundred humans from around the world and left earth to return to the Kobolian System. The site of a former ancient civilization. The outpost left behind after the departure of Olympus had been left intact and it was here the ancients planned to rebuild. There they had attempted to recreate their society. But quickly realized that the human species was still far too primitive to aid them. So they had instead focused on teaching, guiding and leading the now twelve colonies of man as they came to call themselves. The Ancients knew eventually they would either ascend or die. Despite a limited numbers of new ancients born, their way of live, their civilization was at an end. Their last hope was that the People of the Twelve Colonies would one day unite with the people left behind on Terra and become their legacy. They would leave behind the means to defeat the Goa'uld and hope the Thirteen tribes would be become the Fifth race. The ancients had left gate addresses to their repositories of knowledge at the outpost on Kobol. Archibald had the location of three that he now hoped to secure with the aid of Earth. General Hammond had called a staff meeting in the level twenty two conference room, seven SG team leaders and all of the staff sections were there. Doctor Jackson had presented Doctor Harryet's findings and made a startling statement.

"These gate addresses, we've been to one before." Said Daniel Jackson as he looked at the gate symbols.

Jack knew it too.

"Those headsucker things?" He asked aloud.

"Yes, and now we know where two more of them are." Replied Daniel as he looked around the room excited. "If we can safely extract all of this information then we can find a way to defeat Anubis for good and revolutionize our technological base to be on par with or in excess of the Goa'uld"

"SG-1, 3,5,7 and 8 you have a go. Colonel Ehlers I want the rangers on standby in case anything goes south. In addition the president had authorized a scientific support package to be deployed to Kobol to aid the Colonies"

Over one hundred personnel were now preparing to deploy to Kobol which apparently did not have a Stargate. They were to aid the Colonials in studying the Ancient Database left behind. The Chairman of the joint chiefs had ordered the Prometheus to go out and find multiple Stargate's to acquire. One for Kobol and one to send to the Colonies.

SGC

SG-1 minus Carter and Jackson was preparing to return to Stavanna along with Captain Korrey and her escort of two Marines. She had learned a lot in the last few days within the SGC. Especially about Earth's lack of allies and global defense capabilities. The US was far better off than most with a fleet of F-302s and a single interstellar warship with another under construction. She had no doubt that in the event of an invasion the US would be better off than any other country on Earth. But the overall picture was bleak. The Presidential envoy had even offered the possibility of selling colonial warships in exchange for Naquadah and Trinium. To which Earth had agreed rather quickly. She had approved of it and was optimistic about their continued cooperation against the Goa'uld. Earth needed ships and needed them badly. Her people had thousands just sitting in mothballed shipyards. The only problem would be getting them here. To her surprise Earth would be able to upgrade those ships in a very short amount of time.

She had spent the last two days with the SGC's G-2 or director of Intelligence. A Colonel Rebecca Bane. She was impressed with the Colonel, deeply analytical and extremely thorough. After sharing some operational Intel with her Stacey regarded her as a master manipulator and an excellent intelligence operative. She had studied the enemy extensively and she knew the Admiralty would want her to come to Caprica and assist Colonial Intelligence with preparing for the war.

Captain Korrey was skeptical of Earth's claim that the Tokra were unlike the Goa'uld. She saw them all as the same: The Enemy. Colonel O'Neill had smiled at her after she had made that comment. While Teal'c remained as impassive as ever but had given her a slight nod.

"See now you're learning Captain. Never trust a snake" He said as they waited for the gate to complete its dialing.

"I think I already knew that one. My daddy may have taught me a thing or two" She said with a smirk. O'Neill chuckled. The young Intelligence officer was growing on him. She was a damn quick learner and a good shot. Her and Teal'c had gone through Jaffa weapons and tactics at the SGC's range. Teal'c was impressed with her shooting skills and even commended her ability. She had ate up his praise and returned the gesture commenting on his own abilities as well. O'Neill could tell she was also a highly effective operative as well. She had gained a vast amount of information in the little time she had been here.

"Then your father was most wise Captain Korrey" Stated Teal'c with a slight smile.

"I think he was more worried about a different kind of snake when he said it. But the message still works" She replied back with a laugh.

"Just remember once we go find this repository don't go near it. If you do, we may not be able to save you. The knowledge will literally overload your brain" Said O'Neill as he remember his ordeal several years before.

"Noted, I'll be sure to instruct the Marines of that as well" She replied as the gate finished dialing. SG-3, 5, 9 and 12 were going with them and were already assembled in the gate room. She smiled at seeing Lieutenant Cartwright. He nodded at her and gave a small smile back.

"Alright people let's go secure this repository" Said Colonel O'Neill as he lead the way through the gate.

STAVANNA

Fifty Marines waited for the last member of SG-12 to come through before Doctor Gaius Baltar dialed up the address to location provided by Doctor Harryet.

"Coming with us Doc?" Asked Captain Korrey as she noticed his attire. He was outfitted with standard Marine battle rattle but wasn't carrying a weapon.

"Yes, someone has to safely disconnect the device and bring it back here after all. Something a little beyond the skill level of Marines and simple intelligence officers like yourself" He snapped back. She guessed he didn't like the idea of going through the gate into what could turn into a combat situation.

"Just don't faint when the shooting starts." She replied back earning a chuckle from the many marines nearby.

"Excuse me, i.." He was interrupted by O'Neill "Okay children, lets skedaddle and get this over with" Said O'Neill as he walked through with Teal'c and Daniel. Followed closely by SG-3.

In five minutes the task force was through the gate.

"SG-5 and 7 and 8 establish a perimeter as you see fit with the Colonials. Captain Korrey, you and your squad and the good doctor over here are with us." He said as they moved out towards the large ruins in the distance.

BATTLESTAR ACROPOLIS

Ambassador Jeffery Bates was astonished at the sheer size of the Anchorage the Acropolis had docked at. It was truly a behemoth. With almost three hundred ships docked on its many different satellite facilities and the main structure itself. Including a full fifteen of their massive kilometer wide ships called battlestars. Their arrival had sparked an immediate response by the Colonial Military. Battlestars were the pride of the Colonial fleet and seeing one as damaged as the Acropolis had appeared to be had struck fear into the hearts of the Colonial people. Much less the now safely docked cruisers which were rumored to be being considered for scrapping.

The secret was too big to contain. The existence of Alien life had been leaked by chatter on unsecured comms by Viper squadrons after the stand down order had come down from the admiral. The President had spoken that night to address the Colonial people and call for calm. He asked for the people to trust in their government and to allow them to process the information the Acropolis had brought back. He had also held a moment of silence for those that had been lost. Allanna had expected mass panic but instead a vast majority of the people were curious. Angry at the death of Colonial warriors and screaming for blood. It wasn't what she had expected but the people were rallying behind the cause of liberating the Galaxy without any push from the Government. They had officially revealed no information about the Acropolis and the information she had brought back. However a surprising amount of information had been leaked to the press to surprisingly little negative effect.

"I understand our arrival has caused quite the headache Commander." He said as Allanna ate from a plate in front of her.

"Naturally ambassador. But I wouldn't concern yourself. It's only natural for people to be fearful after all. Everyone is afraid of the unknown until the shrouds of mystery are lifted and you step forward to face your fear"

"I didn't take you for the poetic type Commander" He teased her while understanding the sentiment she made. She chuckled and ate into an apple.

"My report will be arriving at the Ministry of Defense in a few hours. Expect a lot to happen once it does." She said wondering about the shape of things to come.

"I overheard some chatter earlier. Apparently public outcry is demanding war on the colonies"

"It seems that way. We don't take the deaths of our service members lightly. And Slavery isn't something the Colonial Government will be willing to tolerate. The Theseus lost half of her crew as did the Odysseus. Over fifteen hundred Colonials died. One hundred and ten from my crew"

She turned as the phone nearby mounted on the wall rang. She grabbed and said "Commander" She listened as her coms officer spoke a few words. "Thank you. I'll meet him on the flight deck"

"Ambassador I'm afraid im going to have to cut our lunch short. Admiral Benton is coming aboard."

"I understand Commander. Thank you for your time" He replied as he gathered his things and left.

ATLANTIA RAPTOR 228

Admiral Benton stared at the hull of the Battlestar Acropolis and took note of the several holes in her armor belt and the massive gash on her portside. It worried him. He felt responsible and guilty looking at the ship before him. He was the one who had recommended Commander Staiuto to conduct the advance reconnaissance of the Kobol corridor. He had given her the order to survey every single system to identify Tylium supplies and new material deposits to be mined at a later date. He felt foolish for those orders now.

He had spent an entire hour on the phone with the President earlier that morning. The Colonial Government was in a state of panic and hysteria and he couldn't blame them. It had been twenty four hours since the three ships had returned. As a result the fleet was mobilizing on a level not seen since the Cylon war. Actual factual and verified information was relatively still classified but the basic facts had gotten out. Kobol had been found. Along with another world populated by Humans. That had come under attack by a race of hostile aliens apparently using humans as unwilling host. The Acropolis and Helios strike group had come to the defense of what they thought were Kobolian citizens left behind during the exodus. Admiral Brantley had viewed them as Colonial citizens. Something he agreed with. As such he had concluded that they were duty bound to come to their aid and defend them. In doing so the Acropolis and Helios strike group had essentially crippled an enemy vessel, boarded it and taken the surviving crewmembers as prisoners. While incurring heavy damage on three ships. Overall the tactical significance of the battle was irrelevant but the Strategic impacts were still being discovered. The civilian population also knew than an Ambassador from Earth was aboard the Acropolis. But they didn't know the overall strategic situation or how dire the military situation really was. After confirming the report he had received at Virgon he had ordered the Fourth fleet to deploy immediately for Kobol. Five entire strike groups were now en-route to Kobol and the world of Stavanna. The fifth strike group would also deploy to the two additional worlds discovered by the Acropolis and establish a garrison planet side and prepare for follow on mining operations. It would take them a long time to get their mines operational and until then they had to hope Earth could supply the needed Naquadah and Trinium necessary to revolutionize their fleet.

The fourth fleet was the Colonial Fleets rapid deployment unit. Mainly composed of Valkyrie Block twos and Poseidon class battlestars. They were essentially older Columbia class battlestars. But built ten to twenty years after the end of the war with all of the lessons learned from the first thirty built during the war. They carried additional Heavy Kinetic energy weapons on the topside of their bow and midsections and were covered in nearly twice the armor. They like the Valkyries were designed to hunt in pairs with little to no support and deploy deep into enemy space and conduct first strike missions.

Each strike group conducted annual readiness exercises and full blown deployments of fifteen to thirty days to train. Armistice line deployment was typically a six month long tour and at any given moment two entire groups were deployed along various locations. Ten battlestars and their four hundred escorts and support ships along with over two thousand frigates and patrol stars. Every single ship in the Colonial fleet was now being prepped for deployment as soon as possible. It was an unprecedented mobilization not seen since the end of the Cylon war. Maintenance was streamlined and ordnance stocks were being transferred to frontline units. Even the reserves were being called up to report for duty. All except for the crew of the Acropolis. They would spend a week writing after action reports, conducting combat review boards and award ceremonies and then be given a month long leave. Admiral Pyros had suggested transferring them to other ships but he had turned that idea down. They had been through a lot and deserved the time off. Breaking up the crew was the last thing he wanted to do.

The Civilian population was eager for more information, literally taking to the streets in protest over the lack of military disclosure. The president had told the media that he would be at the executive mansion later that day to brief them. Something he was not looking forward to. As the raptor docked he wondered how Commander Staiuto felt. She was technically under his command. He was the fleet admiral, and as such all sailors truly were.

As the Raptor was brought down to the hanger deck. He anxiously awaited the hatch to open. Once it did he was met with a ceremonial Marine guard. Stepping off the raptor he saluted the commander and looked over the assembled crew. He could see the pride underneath the fatigue and exhaustion they all showed. He cleared his throat and spoke with pride to the assembled group.

"Words cannot express the pride I have in all of you. You made history out there. While it may not have been the outcome any of us were expecting. You performed above and beyond anything that I could ask from you. Our realities have changed drastically but fate rarely gives us what we ask for. We are entering a dark and unknown chapter in our history. My only hope is that the Colonies can follow the examples of Bravery and selfless sacrifice that all of you have displayed over the last month. Gods knows we will need it. Thank you. Dismissed"

"So say we all" Said Commander Staiuto. The crew echoed her and then dispersed. Returning to their duties on the flight deck.

She stood there impassive as he looked around the hanger deck. In the corner a viper lay on the floor. Its landing gear destroyed. The right wing was gone, blown off by a staff blast. The Admiral inhaled sharply when he saw the blood still staining the cockpit window. He walked over to the shattered viper and ran his hand along the frame. His PAO which for some reason had accompanied him took a photo of him looking somberly at the viper.

"Did the pilot survive?" He asked her to which she lowered her head and replied.

"No sir. He succumbed to his injuries" Her reply filled his chest with sorrow. He remembered the feeling of losing troops under his command during the war with the Cylons and he knew it wasn't easy to deal with.

He turned to look at her. "You sure know how to cause one hell of a stir don't you Allanna"

"You said you picked me for this mission cause I was smart. I don't feel like I was the best choice after seeing all of the bodies in my morgue sir"

He knew what she was feeling. Guilt. He still remembered the names of every single one under his command that he had lost during the Cylon war.

"No. You were the right choice. If I had to do it again, I would still pick you. You have something most commanders don't. A connection to your crew forged in fire. You lead them into combat, defeated the enemy and brought them home. That's all I can ask of my battlestar commanders." He caught her off guard with his words as she took a deep breath.

"Losing people is never easy, and it never gets easier. But you learn to live with it." He said as he pointed to the stairs.

"Come on. Introduce me to the Ambassador. We have a lot to talk about. I want to know everything about our new enemy. But before we go I want you to know that I'm proud of you." He meant every word of what he said and he could tell she knew that he had.

Admiral Benton spent the next three hours talking with Ambassador Bates to which he asked him to accompany him to meet the president and appear beside him as he addressed the Colonies. To which he graciously accepted.

COLONIAL EXECUTIVE PLAZA

Reporters and Staff lined the walls of the press room as Admiral Benton took the podium. It was a large room as most media organizations in the colony had a representative here. He knew that most had run a story or editorial on him and Commander Staiuto prior to them coming here. He also knew that almost everyone in the Colonies was watching right now. Over fifty billion people. Schools had been cancelled as a result of the return of the Acropolis. Courts were closed, businesses had closed early just for this press conference and many people had stayed home or gone to public gathering areas where large screens now showed his face.

"Ladies and Gentleman, my fellow Colonial citizens. As you by now already know approximately twenty four hours ago the Battlestar Acropolis and the Cruisers Odysseus and Theseus returned from the expedition to find Kobol. They returned heavily damaged as a result of a battle over a world we now know the locals call Stavanna. Over the next several minutes I will outline the course of events that led to this and discuss our current situation. However before I do, I would like to take a moment and recognize the valiant and brave men and women of the Battlestar Acropolis, the MarineStar Hephaestus and the entirety of the First Strike group of the Colonial Fifth fleet group. As of two hours ago, One thousand eight hundred and ninety five Colonial service members gave their lives in the defense of democracy, freedom, and Liberty. I would ask all those watching to pray for their souls and to comfort the families of those that we have lost.

As you know the Acropolis was tasked to scout out the entirety of the Kobol corridor and to conduct detailed scans of every single system leading to the main Kobolian star. Commander Staiuto had several objectives in doing this. First and foremost was to ensure the safety of the Expedition fleet from any possibly unseen hostiles. Obviously what we originally envisioned was the possibility of the Cylons. Her second objective was to identify any new source of Tylium or major sources of resources which she did accomplish. Her third objective was to validate the claims of Doctor Harryet and determine if Kobol was in fact really where the doctor said it was. As of this moment I can confirm to the Colonial people that Kobol has been found and secured. The expeditionary fleet has landed on the surface and is now conducting detailed studies and excavations of the ruins of our home world." He paused allowing for the information he had just said to be fully absorbed

"In addition to discovering Kobol, Raptors from the Acropolis discovered another nearby habitable world. Inhabited by a population of what we estimate to be around one hundred million or so. Commander Staiuto made the decision not to make contact, instead passing that decision onto the civilian expeditionary leadership. She relayed the discovery of Kobol and the world of Stavanna back to Admiral Brantley aboard the battlestar Helios which was at that time only two jumps away from Kobol. Admiral Brantley agreed with her decision. However only a few hours after the discovery of the human population of Stavanna a Raptor ordered by Commander Staiuto to observe and monitor the planet was attacked by an unknown and extremely hostile alien race known as the Goa'uld. Lieutenant Amelia Balist and her ECO Lt J.g Carl Edmon defended themselves from the attack and downed four hostile enemy fighters known as death gliders. Before FTL'ing out of the combat zone they observed the enemy vessel known as a Hatak begin firing indiscriminately on the civilian population on the surface. Commander Staiuto then ordered an attack to defend the people of Stavanna which she and Admiral Brantley had assumed were Colonial citizens left behind during the Exodus. The Acropolis jumped in just outside of weapons range and sent a hostile challenge and demanded that the, at the time unknown, vessel cease fire immediately and explain why they had fired unprovoked on colonial aircraft. The Hatak then vectored towards the Acropolis at an alarming rate of speed and was unresponsive to repeated hails. Under the articles of warfare, Commander Staiuto took that as a hostile act and ordered the Acropolis to engage the enemy. The Helios strike group arrived only moments later. In the ensuring ten minute battle the Cruisers Theseus and Odysseus were heavily damaged along with the Acropolis and the Battlestars Ares and Triton also sustained moderate damage. The 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit then conducted a forced entry planetary assault to aid the Civilians on the ground and defeat enemy ground forces that had landed. It is with great sadness we report that the people of Stavanna lost over three hundred thousand of their fellow citizens. The Marines that eventually boarded the enemy ship and defeated the enemy on the surface learned several things. The enemy we know now call themselves The Goa'uld. They are a parasitic race capable of taking control of the Human body and using it as they see fit. Independent medical forensics and autopsies will be allowed to verify those claims by reputable medical businesses and professionals. They have the ability of controlling the body and mind of the host to the point where there is no trace left of the individual. Our intelligence profile as well as from the Tauri of the Goa'uld is that they are a highly aggressive race, extremely territorial. Arrogant and lustful, they pose as gods to force the many billions of humans spread throughout the galaxy to worship them. The same with the Jaffa. Intelligence gained from both the ships data core and enemy prisoners as well as the people of Stavanna have taught us that the Goa'uld have forced the Jaffa into indentured servitude for centuries if not millennia. However there are rebel groups known to be in existence. In addition the Stavanna government has shared with us the existence of a device known as the Stargate. Created what we now know to be millions of years ago by a race of people known as the Lanteans. From what we have been able to ascertain the Lantean people were a highly advanced race that lived with us on Kobol before the great exodus. The Kobol expedition has found technology left behind by them far in advance of what we use now. It is now believed by us and our fellow brothers and sisters from Earth that the Lanteans evolved to a higher plane of existence and left our area of space long ago." He paused knowing the words he was going to say next were so important he could not even begin to state the importance.

"We are now only just beginning to discover the truth behind our origins. The sacred scrolls were not wrong, nor is our religion false. Nor are our gods. Instead they are things we could not comprehend nor understand at the time the sacred scrolls were written. We know who our gods are. They are real, and we believe they are watching us even now. Our destiny is to take up the mantle they have left us and to become the guardians of peace, freedom and justice throughout the Galaxy." He looked from camera to camera for a moment.

"That was the hope of the Lanteans when they created us. Or rather recreated us. They took people from Earth, brought them to Kobol and re-sequenced their DNA to allow for faster development. In a way Kobol is our home world. It is the birthplace of the Colonies. But not for mankind. Earth is the home world of Humanity. These are facts we have learned from the database left behind by the Lanteans on Kobol. I understand that this new reality is difficult to come to terms with. However now is not the time for us to debate over history and squabble over who is right or who is wrong. The threat we now face is grave and very real. The Goa'uld, if they were to learn of the location of the Colonies, would use the full force of their fleet to wipe us out. Unfortunately they have that capability. Their ships at full strength are vastly superior to ours. The technological gap we now face is not insurmountable as our brothers and sisters from Earth can attest to. They have promised to help us upgrade and revolutionize our ships and military forces. As of this moment our policy is one of aggression. To strike the enemy hard and swiftly on multiple fronts. It will not be a fight won in a year or even in a decade. But our ultimate goal is to defeat the Goa'uld System lords, liberate the Human slaves under their domain and free the Jaffa as well.

Earth has been fighting the Goa'uld for some time now with great success. They made contact with us three days after we secured the planet. They have already provided a great deal of information on our new enemy. With our assistance it is hoped that we can turn the tide of their war. Now more than ever, we must stand united or we will fade into dust at the hands of oppression and tyranny."

He silently bowed his head and paused.

"I know I have delivered a lot of shocking information. I understand there will be many conflicting emotions. But trust in your military and in your government. Right now there is no credible threat to Colonial Space but that could change rapidly. As of right now the entirety of the Colonial fleet is deployed and ready for any possible attack. We are at our highest readiness level. We will provide you with updates periodically and we promise to fully disclose the events that have transpired in full once we have fully debriefed the crew of the Acropolis and ascertained all of the facts. I now turn it over to Commander Staiuto who will make a brief statement"

Allanna was nervous to be in front of the media. She never liked the press, always thought of them as too nosey and undisciplined. But she knew she had to reassure the people.

"Thank you Admiral. I would like to take a moment to honor the incredibly brave men and women whom I have been privileged to lead for the last seven months. To my crew, you're bravery and courage in the face of the enemy has inspired me beyond words. You have made me the proudest commander in the fleet and I don't say that lightly. You have performed your duties above and beyond the call of duty and for that I thank you. Losing your friends and fellow crewmembers hurts. Their loss is a loss for us all. Cherish the memories you made together and take solace that they died in the line of duty, defending innocent lives. There is no greater meaning in life than to fight for a purpose higher than oneself. Remember the men and women you have served with on this mission. For one day soon you will tell your children and your children's children that you served with the finest men and women the universe has ever known. To the people of the Colonies, know this, we are the thin line of blue separating you from the darkness that is our enemy. I swear to you upon the memory of all those who have so gallantly and selflessly given their lives, that we will not fail you. We will not bend, we will not break nor will we ever surrender. The might of the Colonies is in you and we are your sword. So say we all"

The earth delegation watched with alarm at the press conference. Major Carter and General Hartfield were relieved to see how serious the Colonials were taking the Goa'uld threat. Ambassador Jeffery bates had no doubts he would be able to negotiate a mutual defense treaty, Trade agreement and Mutual alliance with the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. He smiled at the conclusion of the press conference as the many news organization began showing demonstrations in the streets of major cities. What made him more optimistic were the long lines now forming outside of the Colonial recruiting stations.

The actual formal treaty signing would still have to take place on earth but for all intents and purposes the Colonies were now fighting a war with earth as her one and only ally in a very hostile galaxy. A fact reinforced when the Colonial Government voted unanimously to declare war on the Goa'uld System lords that very same night.

"We just gained ourselves one hell of a major ally Ambassador." Stated General Hartfield

"Yes we did. Now let's make sure they're capable of winning this fight"

As the last member of the Quorum voted yes. Zeus standing among the most successful project he had ever been a part of smiled triumphantly.

ASCENDED PLANE

Twelve Ascended beings floated freely over the vast emptiness of space surrounding Kobol and watched as the fourth fleet jumped into orbit in its entirety.

It was an impressive sight even to them. It had taken the Colonials only two days to get a fleet of over six hundred ships to Kobol. The expedition members were discovering an unbelievable amount of knowledge and historical data. But the Colonial fleet didn't care for archeological finds. They were going to war. Earth and the Colonial Military had already agreed to conduct joint operations. In fact initial planning was already under way to strike at the heart of Anubis's kull warrior factory. In just days the Colonials and the Tauri had come together to form a strong military alliance.

"Do you think the Goa'uld stand a chance?" Asked one of the ascended beings.

"No. The humans of Earth will turn the Colonials into a force of unimaginable military might. They will suffer greatly at first. But all great victories bear great cost." Replied another.

"I never truly thought our plan would succeed. After the exodus from Kobol I had lost hope" Spoke Aphrodite for the first time.

"I have learned never to lose hope when it comes to the seed species. They are truly resilient" Responded Zeus

"They truly are the second evolution of our kind" Said Athena

"They will take their rightful place in the Galaxy together. I have no doubt of this" Said Ares

"Do you think they will journey to Pegasus?" Asked another

"It would not surpise me" Said Hermes as he watched the fleet disperse throughout the planets orbit.

"And if they encounter the Wraith?"

"Then they will defeat them. We lost because we were arrogant. The Tauri and Colonials are not."

"They truly are our legacy" Said Athena

"Do you think the rest of the Ancients have any idea what is happening now?" Asked Hera

"No we were careful and we have kept their existence a secret." Said Demeter

"Now that Earth knows the rest of the Ancients will as well" Responded Zeus

"It will not matter, they cannot interfere" Said Ares

Around them the Fourth Fleet spread out in a protective posture around the planet of kobol and the expeditionary fleet.

 _Figured I owed you guys an update, life has been hectic the last few months and I haven't really had the time or interest in writing but thatll change. Enjoy this update for now with a promise of more on the way._


End file.
